If you are bringing a relative to live permanently in the United States, you must accept legal responsibility for financially supporting this family member. You accept this responsibility and become your relative's sponsor by completing and signing a document called an affidavit of support - Form I-864.

The sponsor needs to fill form I864, Affidavit of Support, for

• Applicants for family-based immigrant visas (petitions filed using Form I-130 or Form I-129F), including orphans(IR-4, Petition filed using Form I-600 or I-600A) .
  
  For immediate relatives of U.S. citizen and family-based preference categories immigrants, the family member petitioning for the intending immigrant must be the sponsor.
  
  
• Applicants for employment-based immigrant visas where a relative filed the immigrant visa petition or has a 5 percent or greater ownership interest in the business that filed the petition.
  
  For employment-based immigrants, the petitioning relative or a relative with a significant ownership interest (5 percent or more) in the petitioning entity must be the sponsor. The term ''relative", for these purposes, is defined as husband, wife, father, mother, child, adult son or daughter, brother, or sister.

A sponsor or joint sponsor must be:

• A citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence; (joint sponsor can be a U.S. national as well);
• At least 18 years of age; and
• Domiciled in the United States or its territories and possessions.

I-864 is a complex form. You should take care in filling it out, as incomplete or incorrect forms will not be accepted. Form I-134 can not be used in place of I-864.

Overall process for affidavit of support