I-864 Affidavit of Support: Who Must Submit It, Income and Assets, Joint and Substitute Sponsors, and When Obligations End

01

Who Must Submit It

For all immigrants in the immediate relative categories of U.S. citizens (including orphans) and family preference categories, the petitioner must submit Form I-864; employment-based immigrants need it only if a relative filed the petition or a relative holds an ownership interest of 5% or more in the petitioning business.

Those who do not need I-864 include: people who already have, or can be credited with, 40 Social Security qualifying quarters of work; children of U.S. citizens who will automatically acquire citizenship under INA 320 upon admission; people with approved widow(er) or abused spouse/child I-360 petitions; and qualifying orphans fully adopted abroad.

02

Income and Assets

The sponsor’s household income must reach 125% of the poverty guidelines for the applicable year; active-duty military personnel sponsoring a spouse or child need only meet 100%. The applicable amounts are those in the current USCIS I-864P table; this site does not hard-code dollar amounts. Assets may be counted if income is insufficient: the I-864 instructions state that assets generally must equal at least five times the difference between household income and the poverty guideline amount; this is reduced to three times only when a U.S. citizen sponsors a spouse or a child age 18 or older. For an orphan from abroad who enters as a permanent resident, whose adoption is subsequently completed in the United States, and who thereby acquires citizenship under INA 320, assets need only equal the difference. Sponsoring parents, siblings, or other relatives still requires five times the difference.

The sponsor must be at least 18 years old, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and have a domicile in the United States (or a U.S. territory).

03

Joint and Substitute Sponsors

A joint sponsor shares responsibility with the petitioner and must meet the same requirements, but need not be a relative. A substitute sponsor is used when the petitioner dies after the petition is approved and USCIS permits the case to proceed; the substitute sponsor must fall within the legally specified range of relatives and assume all sponsorship obligations.

04

When Obligations End

I-864 is an enforceable contract that generally remains in effect until the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, is credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work, dies, or ceases to be a permanent resident and leaves the United States, among other circumstances. Divorce does not terminate the sponsorship obligations. If the sponsored immigrant receives certain means-tested public benefits, the sponsor must reimburse those benefits.

05

Current Form Edition

USCIS released the 08/24/26 edition of I-864 on 2026-08-31 and will accept only that edition beginning 2026-10-01. The I-864W page has been marked as “archived content, outdated information” and should no longer be relied upon for processing.

The current I-485 instructions state that applicants for adjustment of status within the United States who previously had to submit I-864W to request an exemption no longer need that form and instead select a box in I-485 Part 3. The exemption options in Part 3 of I-485 (09/18/26 edition) are: 1.a, already credited with or eligible to be credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work; 1.b, an unmarried child under age 18 of a U.S. citizen who will automatically acquire citizenship under INA 320 upon obtaining permanent resident status; 1.c, the I-360 category for widow(er)s of U.S. citizens; and 1.d, VAWA self-petitioners. Those who are neither required to submit I-864 nor required to request an exemption select 1.e; those required to submit I-864 select 1.f. Failure to submit I-864 when required will result in denial of I-485.