The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has changed Form I-864, the ‘Affidavit of Support’ used by people sponsoring family members for a green card, according to Lubna Kably's Times of India report. From August 31, USCIS will accept only the new version of the form for filings submitted on or after that date, with no grace period for using the previous version.
The revised form includes a privacy release that allows USCIS to request credit-related information about the sponsor from one or more consumer reporting agencies.
What has changed in Form I-864
The Affidavit of Support is used to establish that a person sponsoring a family member for a green card has the financial ability to support the immigrant.
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The American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA) has pointed to the new privacy release as a key change in the revised form. “It includes a privacy release that authorizes USCIS to request credit related information (about the sponsor) from one or more consumer reporting agencies,” states AILA.
The change means USCIS has an additional route to obtain financial information while assessing whether a sponsor meets the requirements under Form I-864.
Sponsors with a credit freeze may need to act
AILA has also warned sponsors who have placed a credit or security freeze on their consumer or credit report.
“If a sponsor has a credit or security freeze on their consumer or credit report file, USCIS may not be able to access the information necessary to assess the sufficiency of Form I-864. To avoid any delays, a sponsor should expeditiously respond to any requests made to release a credit or security freeze," according to AILA.
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Consumers generally place credit freezes with major credit-reporting agencies to prevent unauthorised accounts from being opened in their name.
A credit freeze does not erase or damage a person's credit history. Instead, it limits access to the report while the freeze remains in place.
No minimum credit score announced
Immigration attorneys have pointed out that the revised Form I-864 does not specify a minimum credit score that a sponsor must have, TOI reported.
USCIS has also not announced that every sponsor will undergo a credit inquiry or that every sponsor’s credit score will routinely be reviewed.
The new form does not say that a low credit score, high credit-card balances, missed payments or a previous bankruptcy automatically disqualifies a person from becoming a financial sponsor.
However, immigration attorneys say it remains to be seen how USCIS will use the new authority.
Income requirement remains unchanged
The basic financial requirement under Form I-864 has not been replaced by a credit-score requirement.
The form has traditionally focused on a sponsor’s financial ability through details such as household size, current annual income, household income, federal tax returns, and income and asset documentation.
Generally, a sponsor must show income at or above 125% of the applicable federal poverty guidelines.
For example, for a household of four in the Washington DC area, this translates into $41,250, according to the TOI report.
What sponsors should check
Ana Gabriela Urizar, an immigration attorney, said the Form I-864 was already a binding contract requiring the sponsor to support the immigrant financially.
She said the new provision gives USCIS another way to verify the sponsor’s financial information. “USCIS can go straight to the credit bureaus to check your numbers, so sponsors should make sure their income and asset documentation actually matches what's on file before they sign,” she added.
With USCIS now having an additional avenue to seek financial information, the review of Form I-864 could cover more aspects of a sponsor’s finances.
(With inputs from TOI)
