Using Assets to Meet Income Requirements – Affidavit of Support

If your “Total Household Income”, as specified in Question 24c, is equal to or more than the necessary income requirements as shown by the current federal poverty guidelines for your household size, you should not complete the section, “Assets”.

If your total household income does not meet the requirement, you may submit the evidence of the value of:

• Your (or your sponsor’s) assets
  
  
• The assets of each household member who can sign a Form I-864A
  
  In order to include them, you must have listed them as dependents on your most recent federal tax return, or they must have lived with you for the last 6 months.
  
  
• The assets of the intending immigrants
  
  A Form I-864A is not required to document the intending immigrant’s assets unless he or she has accompanying family members.
  
  The intending immigrant must clearly demonstrate their ability to take their money or assets out of the country where they are located. Many countries have strict regulations that severely limit the amount of cash or liquid assets an individual may take or send abroad.

You can combine the value of the assets of all of the above persons in order to meet the necessary requirement.

Eligible Assets

You can only include the assets that can be converted into cash within one year and without considerable hardship or financial loss to the owner or his/her family members. The consular or immigration officer must be convinced that the value of the asset could be reasonably made available to support the sponsored immigrant.

Asset Types

There is no form for the evidence of assets. Prepare a list or table on a plain sheet of paper with the following information for each of the assets:

• A brief description of the asset
  
  
• A brief description of the document you have attached to prove the ownership
  
  
• Current value
  
  
• Remaining debt, if any
  
  
• The basis for the owner’s claim of its net cash current value

The stated value of the asset must be the likely sale price, not the purchase price. If no debt remains, submit proof of the final payment.

The following types of assets may be included:

• Balance of all savings and checking accounts.
  
  Submit bank statements covering the last 12 months, or a statement from an officer of the bank or other financial institution in which you have deposits, included a deposit/withdrawal history for the last 12 months, and the current balance.
  
  
• Net cash value of real-estate holdings.
  
  The net value of the real-estate is its appraised value, minus the sum of any and all loans secured by a mortgage (mortgage debt), trust deed, or other lien on the home. You must include documentation demonstrating that you own it, its location, date of acquisition, a recent appraisal by a licensed appraiser or tax assessment, and evidence of the amount of any and all loans secured by a mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the home.
  
  
• Net cash value of all stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit (CD), and any other assets not already included.
  
  Submit evidence of ownership and value of stocks, bonds, and certificates of deposit, other personal property, and date(s) acquired.
  
  For properties other than real estate, the sponsor can hire a professional appraiser to prepare an estimate and report.
  
  
• You may include an automobile only if if you show that you own at least one working automobile that you have not included.
  
  For cars, the value listed on Kelly Blue Book is acceptable.
  
  
• Pension

Required Minimum Total Value of Assets

In order to qualify based on the value of your assets, the total value of the assets must equal at least five times the difference between your household income and the current federal poverty guidelines of your household size.

However, if you are a U.S. citizen and are sponsoring your spouse or minor child, the total value of the assets must only be equal to at least three times the difference.

If the intending immigrant is an alien orphan who will be adopted in the U.S. after the alien orphan acquires permanent residence and as a result, acquire citizenship under section 320 of the Act, the total value of the assets must only equal the difference.

Example for a household size of 4, when petitioning for a parent: