How to fill out Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support)
Form I-864 is the financial spine of a family immigration case: the sponsor's formal undertaking that the immigrant will be supported. It costs nothing to file and everything to get wrong — an insufficient or under-documented affidavit stalls the whole case. This page walks the form's logic: the threshold, the household count, the documents, and the joint-sponsor option. Every claim is cited; general process description, not advice about any individual case.
Step 1 — understand what the form is
The I-864 is a legally significant commitment, not a formality — USCIS's form page describes the undertaking a sponsor accepts by signing. It has no filing fee under the current schedule. Its weight is entirely in the showing: income, household size, and documents that prove both.
Step 2 — the income threshold
The sponsor must generally demonstrate income at or above 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for their household size — 100% for certain active-duty military sponsors. The dollar figures update annually, so this page deliberately doesn't restate them: USCIS's I-864P page publishes the current table, and that table is the number that matters.
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Step 3 — count the household per the instructions
Household size is a defined count, not an intuition: the sponsor, their dependents, the sponsored immigrant or immigrants, and certain others the instructions specify. The threshold from step 2 depends on this count, so the count comes first — and the instructions' rules, not habit, decide who is in it.
Step 4 — assemble the documents
The core showing is the most recent federal tax return or IRS transcript plus evidence of current income — recent pay records, an employer letter, or the equivalent for self-employment. Assets may supplement insufficient income under rules the instructions describe.
Step 5 — if the income isn't enough: the joint sponsor
When the petitioner's income doesn't meet the threshold, a joint sponsor may step in — and they complete their own separate, full I-864 with their own documents, not an addendum to the petitioner's. The signed affidavit then travels with the case: in the I-485 package for adjustment cases, or to the National Visa Center for consular cases. USCIS fees change periodically — before filing, verify current amounts on the official USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055) at uscis.gov/g-1055.
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Does Form I-864 have a filing fee?
No — $0 under the current G-1055 schedule. Its cost is the obligation and the documentation.
What income does a sponsor need?
Generally at or above 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the household size (100% for certain active-duty military sponsors). The current dollar figures live on USCIS's I-864P page, updated annually.
What documents go with the I-864?
The most recent federal tax return or IRS transcript and evidence of current income; assets may supplement under the instructions' rules.
What if the petitioner doesn't earn enough?
A joint sponsor may complete their own separate, complete I-864 with their own documentation.
Where does the completed form go?
With the I-485 package for adjustment cases, or to the National Visa Center for consular processing.