How to Fill Out Form I-864 - Sponsor Requirements, Income and Instructions

Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support) is the sponsor's financial guarantee in US family-based immigration. The relative who files it promises to support the immigrant if they cannot support themselves, and proves their income is enough to back that up. Without it, a family-based green card does not get issued. Below is who has to file it and when, how much a sponsor needs to earn in 2026, what to do if the income falls short, how to fill out the new edition part by part, and what obligations a sponsor takes on for years afterward.

What Form I-864 Is and When You Need It

I-864 is signed by the sponsor, usually the same person who filed the I-130 petition. Nearly every family-based immigrant needs it - spouses, children and parents of citizens, every F category, and a fiance or fiancee on a K-1 visa once they adjust status inside the US. In employment-based immigration it only applies if a relative filed the I-140 petition, or a relative owns 5% or more of the sponsoring company.

I-864 is not required for the Green Card lottery, EB-5, employment categories with no relative petitioner, refugees or people granted asylum. There is also an exemption for an immigrant who already has 40 quarters of US work history, a child who will automatically become a citizen on entry, a widow or widower of a citizen, and people protected under VAWA.

The old I-864W form for these exemptions has been retired. When adjusting status in the US, you claim the exemption right on Form I-485. For a consular case, it is a written explanation to the NVC before you pay the review fee.

There is no USCIS fee for I-864. If the case goes through a consulate, the NVC charges $120 to review the affidavit of support.

The New Edition of I-864 - What Changed

On August 31, 2026, USCIS released new editions of I-864, I-864A and I-864EZ, dated August 24, 2026 (08/24/26 on the form). Through September 30, 2026, both the new edition and the previous one, dated October 17, 2024 (10/17/24 on the form), are accepted. Starting October 1, USCIS only processes the new one. Attach the old form to an I-485 filed after that date, and the filing does not get rejected outright, but USCIS treats it as a missing required document, which means a request for evidence or a denial.

There is one substantive change. The sponsor (and any household member on I-864A) now consents to let USCIS and the State Department pull their credit reports and credit scores from credit bureaus. If your credit file is frozen, review slows down until you unfreeze it. USCIS has not published a minimum credit score, and figures floating around social media are not reliable.

There is no separate NVC announcement of a transition date for consular cases. It is safer to file the new edition there too. Download the form only from the I-864 page at USCIS, and every page has to come from the same edition.

Who Can Be a Sponsor

• A US citizen, US national, or green card holder.
• At least 18 years old.
• Domiciled in the US. That means your main place of residence, the one you intend to keep.

A sponsor living abroad has to prove one of two things. Either the time abroad is temporary and ties to the US remain (state taxes, property, accounts, a permanent address, voting), or domicile will be restored no later than when the immigrant arrives. For the second option, transferring money to a US account, a job search, renting housing, enrolling kids in school all count as evidence. If the sponsor is entering the US together with the immigrant, domicile counts as restored.

The petitioner files their own I-864 regardless, even if their income falls short and a joint sponsor is covering the gap.

How Much a Sponsor Needs to Earn

Household income has to be at least 125% of the federal poverty line. For active-duty service members sponsoring a spouse or child, the bar drops to 100%. Thresholds are published in the I-864P table, and the figures below have applied since March 1, 2026, for the 48 contiguous states plus DC.

Alaska and Hawaii have higher thresholds, in their own columns. And one trap. The I-864P page also shows an old, unlabeled table with 2023 figures, $24,650 for two people. Use the table under the heading "For the 48 Contiguous States."

Means-tested public benefits and income from illegal activity do not count toward household income. The immigrant's own income only counts if it will continue from the same lawful source after they get status.

How to Calculate Household Size

Household size includes:

• the sponsor;
• everyone being sponsored on this form;
• the sponsor's spouse;
• the sponsor's unmarried children under 21, even if they live elsewhere;
• dependents claimed on the most recent tax return;
• immigrants the sponsor supported before, if that obligation is still active;
• relatives whose income is added to the sponsor's under Form I-864A.

No one gets counted twice. Example. A US citizen with a 10-year-old child sponsors her husband. That is 3 people, threshold $34,150.

A spouse or child of the immigrant arriving more than 6 months later does not have to be included on this form. A separate I-864 covers them when they apply.

If the Income Falls Short - Assets, I-864A, and a Joint Sponsor

There are three options, and you can combine them.

Assets. Money in accounts, securities, the net value of real estate, anything you could sell within a year. A single car does not count. A house counts only with an appraisal from a licensed appraiser and a mortgage statement. You need assets worth:

• 5 times the gap between the threshold and the income, in the general case;
• 3 times, if a citizen is sponsoring a spouse or a child 18 or older;
• 1 time, for an orphan being adopted in the US.

Example. Threshold $34,150, income $30,000, gap $4,150. A citizen sponsoring a wife needs $12,450 in assets.

A household member on Form I-864A. Income from a spouse, parent, adult child, sibling living with the sponsor can be added to the sponsor's income. The household member signs I-864A alongside the sponsor and takes on the same responsibility for supporting the immigrant. If you are counting the income of the immigrant themselves, arriving without family, they do not need I-864A.

A joint sponsor. A citizen, national, or green card holder aged 18+ with US domicile, no family relationship required. They file their own I-864 and have to clear 125% for their own household, which includes the people being sponsored. Their income cannot be combined with the petitioner's. One immigrant can have only one joint sponsor, and a family can have no more than two total.

How to Fill Out Form I-864 Part by Part

The August 24, 2026 edition runs 12 pages. For a question that does not apply, write N/A. If the answer is zero, write None.

Part 1. Basis For Filing - your basis as a sponsor

Check one box - petitioner under I-130 or I-129F, relative under I-140, co-owner of the company, sole joint sponsor, first or second of two joint sponsors, or substitute sponsor if the petitioner died after I-130 was approved.

Part 2. Information About You - the sponsor's data

Name, mailing and physical addresses, country of domicile, date and place of birth, status, A-Number. A Social Security Number (SSN) is required. If item 5 lists the US as your country of domicile but you live abroad, attach an explanation and evidence. Item 12, about military service, is filled out only by the petitioner. It is what gives the 100% threshold.

Part 3 and Part 4. Who You Are Sponsoring

Part 3 covers the principal immigrant, the petition's beneficiary. Part 4 covers whether you are sponsoring them personally and which family members are traveling with them or within 6 months. The form fits four people. List anyone beyond that in Part 11.

Part 5. Sponsor's Household Size

Line by line - people sponsored on this form, the sponsor, spouse, children, dependents, previously sponsored immigrants, relatives on I-864A. Compare the total in item 8 against the I-864P table.

Part 6. Sponsor's Employment and Income

Where you work, or that you are self-employed, retired, unemployed. Personal annual income, household members' income, total income. Then the tax declarations. Item 16.a, the most recent tax year, is always required. Items 16.b and 16.c, for earlier years, are optional. Write N/A if you skip them. If you were not required to file, explain that in item 17.

Part 7. Use of Assets

Only if income falls short. Assets of the sponsor, household members on I-864A, and the principal immigrant all count. The total has to cover the required multiple of the gap.

Part 8. Sponsor's Contract, Certification, and Signature

The sponsor's contractual obligation text, contact information, and declaration. This is also where the new consent to a credit check sits. The signature has to be handwritten. A typed name or a stamp means the form gets rejected.

Part 9, 10, 11 - Interpreter, Preparer, and Overflow Space

Part 9 is for an interpreter, if the form was translated for the sponsor. Part 10 is for whoever prepared the form on the sponsor's behalf. Part 11 is where overflow answers go. Each extra page needs the page number, part, item, signature and date.

What Documents to Attach

• Last year's tax return. An IRS transcript or a copy of the federal return. A copy needs every W-2, 1099 and schedule attached. A transcript usually does not need the W-2s and 1099s. Three years of returns is optional. Do not attach a state or foreign return.
• Self-employed sponsors attach Schedule C, D, E or F from that same return.
• If you were required to file and did not - file with the IRS first, then attach it. If you were not required to file because of low income, attach a written explanation instead.
• Sponsor's status. A joint or substitute sponsor attaches proof of citizenship or a green card. A petitioner attaches it only if it was not already included with the petition.
• For I-864A - the household member's declaration for the same year, and, if they are not a spouse or dependent, evidence of the relationship and a shared address.
• For assets - account statements, a property appraisal, statements of any debts.
• Translations. Documents not in English need a full translation plus the translator's certificate.

USCIS does not require proof of current employment (an employer letter, pay stubs). The NVC asks for it if the income on the form or the transcript falls below the threshold.

The Sponsor's Obligations - How Long They Last and What They Risk

Signing I-864 creates a contract between the sponsor and the US government, one that can be enforced in court (8 CFR 213a). The sponsor agrees to keep the immigrant's income at or above 125% of the poverty line, and to reimburse the government for any means-tested benefits the immigrant receives. Either the immigrant or a government agency can demand that the sponsor fulfill it.

The obligation ends when the immigrant:

• becomes a US citizen;
• reaches 40 quarters of US work history;
• loses permanent resident status and leaves the country;
• dies (or if the sponsor dies, debts on obligations already incurred still stand).

Divorce does not end the obligation. Clients ask about this constantly in consultations, and the answer is always the same - "we got divorced" does not release a sponsor.

A sponsor reports a change of address on Form I-865 within 30 days. The penalty for skipping it runs from $250 to $5,000. A green card holder also separately reports a new address to USCIS within 10 days.

Where to File I-864, and When I-864EZ Is Enough

• Consular cases. The form and documents get uploaded to the NVC through the CEAC system after you pay the $120 review fee, then the consular officer reviews them at the interview.
• Adjustment of status in the US. I-864 is filed together with Form I-485. Starting September 18, 2026, only the new I-485 edition dated September 18, 2026 (09/18/26 on the form) is accepted.

The simplified I-864EZ works if the sponsor is also the sole petitioner, the petition covers just one person, and a W-2 salary or pension alone clears the threshold. Self-employment, assets, household members' income, or a joint sponsor mean you need the regular I-864 instead.

One more thing. Starting September 18, 2026, a new public charge rule applies. I-864 is still mandatory. Skip it and the denial is automatic. But a form with enough income on paper no longer guarantees an approval. USCIS now also weighs how realistically the sponsor will actually support the immigrant, including their financial history and how well they have met past obligations.

I-864 usually falls apart over simple arithmetic. Before you sign, work out your household size using the list above, compare your income against the 2026 I-864P table, and confirm the form is the August 24, 2026 edition. If the numbers do not add up, the sponsor lives abroad, or you need a joint sponsor, sort that out early. There is more on the whole path on our family-based immigration page.