2016 Poverty Guidelines for I-864 Affidavit of Support

Every year, USCIS published 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 table below, for an immigrant family of 2, the sponsor's income must be at least 20,025 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	20,025	25,025	23,037
3	25,200	31,500	28,987
4	30,375	37,975	34,937
5	35,550	44,450	40,887
6	40,725	50,925	46,837
7	45,912	57,400	52,787
8	51,112	63,900	58,762
	Add $5,200 for each additional person	Add $6,500 for each additional person	Add $5,975 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.

The I-864 Affidavit of Support form is used to determine if there is sufficient financial support for intending immigrants. The I-864 form turns out to be an extremely challenging document to handle. In fact, a good number of immigrant petitions are delayed or denied because of errors relating to the I-864 form. Normally, the petitioner must act as the sponsor.  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. 

For last year's poverty guidelines, check out our previous blog entry.