2019 Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support (I-864)

Every year, USCIS publishes the most current income requirements for completing the I-864 Affidavit of Support for immigrant petitions. These guidelines are based on the current poverty guidelines published by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  

To support an intending immigrant and his/her family members, the sponsor(s) must generally show that their income level is above 125% of the U.S. poverty line for the family unit.  For example, as shown by the 2019 guidelines below, for an immigrant family of 2, the sponsor's income must be at least $21,138 in most states and U.S. territories except Alaska and Hawaii, which have higher income requirements.

Size of Household	48 Contiguous States,D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands,Guam & CNMI	Alaska	Hawaii
125% of Poverty Line (U.S. dollars)
2	21,138	26,413	24,325
3	26,663	33,325	30,675
4	32,188	40,238	37,025
5	37,713	47,150	43,375
6	43,238	54,063	49,725
7	48,763	60,975	56,075
8	54,288	67,888	62,425
	Add $4,420 for each additional person	Add $5,530 for each additional person	Add $5,080 for each additional person

If the financial sponsors' income level is below the guidelines, the intending immigrant may be found to be inadmissible to the United States as a "public charge."  Section 212(a)(4) of Immigration Act requires that family-based immigrants and the dependents of an employment-based immigrant must prove that they will not likely become a financial burden (public charge) to the U.S. society.

Normally, the petitioner must act as the sponsor in the I-864 form.  If the petitioner's income level is insufficient, a joint sponsor may provide additional financial support.  Both petitioner and the beneficiary may also use their assets such as real estate, stocks, bonds, cash, etc., to meet the I-864 requirements. 

The requirements regarding financial support have been tightened recently. A rule proposed in October 2018 wants to subject the beneficiary to a comprehensive review, which judges if the person will likely be a public charge. DHS would examine age, health, family status, assets, resources, financial status, education, employment history and skills. In addition, DHS will also look into the beneficiary's history regarding use of public assistance programs (e.g. Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid) in the past three years as well as in the present.  The proposal has not been finalized yet but the more restrictive policy may still be applied in individual cases. Intending immigrants must pay attention to make sure that they are not considered a "public charge." 

The financial sponsor must be either U.S. citizen or legal resident. Another lesser-known requirement for the I-864 sponsor is that he or she must be domicile in the United States. It basically means that the sponsor must regard the United States as his or her permanent home.