Tips on Filling Out Form I-134 for the K-1 Fiancé Visa

As part of the K-1 fiancé visa application process, the U.S. consulate will require applicants to show that they are not likely to become public charges—that is, that they won't depend on government assistance or welfare. Typically, the petitioning U.S. citizen is asked to show a willingness to support the applicant, as described in How Much Income a K-1 Fiancé Visa Applicant's Sponsor Needs to Show. In order to make this showing, the consulate may ask the U.S. citizen to fill out what's known as a Form I-134 Declaration of Financial Support, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Below are some tips on filling out Form I-134 and preparing the accompanying documents. Unfortunately, the USCIS instructions don't always make it entirely clear how each question should be handled. The guidance below is based on our understanding of the U.S. government's goals in collecting this information, and is directed to the U.S. citizen who will be filling out the form.

How Much Income Will the U.S. Citizen Need to Show?

For Form I-134, the petitioner needs to show an income of at least 100% of amounts listed per family size in the federal Poverty Guidelines. Your foreign-born fiancé might be required to bring a completed Form I-134 to the visa interview, at which point the form becomes part of their permanent record.

However, you will have to meet a higher, 125% requirement just a few months later, after your wedding, if and when your fiancé applies to adjust status to that of U.S. conditional resident (apply for a conditional green card). Therefore, we recommend that, if possible, you show that you can meet the 125% requirement on Form I-134 even at this point.

Preparing USCIS Form I-134

This article discusses the version of the form dated 01/20/25.

Part 1. Basis for Filing

Question 1: As someone sponsoring a fiancé, it only makes sense to check box the second box (since your fiancé will be the beneficiary of the visa petition).

Part 2. Information About the Individual Agreeing to Financially Support the Beneficiary

This section asks for biographical and other information about the U.S. citizen sponsor. The information about employment, income, and assets is key to proving to the U.S. government that the K-1 fiancé visa applicant will not become dependent on "means-tested public benefits," often referred to as welfare. Here are some details on the more challenging questions.

Questions 8-9: A U.S. citizen petitioner will have an A-number only if they once held a green card (permanent residence). A U.S. citizen who filed a past petition with USCIS might have a USCIS Online Account Number.

Question 10: Check the box for U.S. citizen (as the petitioner in a K-1 case needs to be).

Question 11: The U.S. citizen should answer "fiancé" if engaged to a man or "fiancée" if engaged to a woman.

Question 12: The U.S. citizen must enter information about where they work.

Question 13: Anyone whom the U.S. citizen has listed on previous immigration affidavits of support must be listed here. These questions attempt to find out whether the U.S. citizen is overextended financially.

Questions 14-15: Anyone whom the U.S. citizen has listed on tax returns should be named here, along with support amounts.

Question 16: Enter annual income amount, whether from a salary, self-employment, or some combination.

Question 17: If the U.S. citizen's income is sufficient for the Form I-134, the Department of State will not care about assets, so it's not really necessary to list them all. Assets become important, however, in cases where the U.S. citizen's income does not meet the Poverty Guidelines levels. "Assets" are something of value that a person owns, including real property or intangible items such as savings or stocks, minus any debt on it. List any assets that can easily be converted into cash within 12 months.

Questions 18-19: Here, it makes sense to check "No" and leave the rest blank. These questions are mostly for people sponsoring short-term visitors (like tourists) who would want to limit what they plan to provide during the person's U.S. stay.

Part 3. Information About the Beneficiary

Now you must answer questions about the foreign-born fiancé.

Questions 1-4: Self-explanatory.

Question 5: The foreign fiancé would have an A-number only in limited circumstances, such as if they'd been in the U.S. and either been in removal proceedings or qualified for a work permit. Otherwise, leave this blank.

Question 6: Fill in foreign fiancé's address, presumably overseas.

Question 7: Fill in foreign fiancé's country of nationality, most likely the birth country.

Questions 8: "Marital Status" should, of course, be "single," "divorced," "widowed," or anything other than "married," since the foreign beneficiary is coming to the U.S. for the specific purpose of getting married.

Part 4: Ignore this, since it's only for beneficiaries filing on their own behalf.

Part 5 asks for contact information and certain declarations that you, the U.S. petitioner, will sign your name to. (Read before signing!)

Parts 6 and 7: Self-explanatory, mostly calling for the contact information of any professionals who helped prepare the form.

Documents to Accompany Form I-134

Along with Form I-134, the U.S. citizen should provide copies of documents proving income, as described below. Not every consulate will require such extensive documentation, but in case yours does, it's best to prepare in advance rather than risk delays in the process.

Copy of most recent federal tax return. Include the W-2 slips—at least one year's worth, and maybe three. There is no need to include the state tax form. The consulate prefers to see the tax return in the form of IRS transcripts (an IRS-generated summary of the return that was actually filed), which can be requested online (fastest method) or by using IRS Form 4506-T-EZ (shorter form which returns a shorter version of the tax transcript) or Form 4506-T (required if you file based on a fiscal tax year instead of a calendar year). These forms are available through the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

However, it can take several weeks to get the tax transcript. Don't let this hold up the immigration process. If the transcript hasn't come by the time of the visa interview, simply use your (the U.S. citizen petitioner's) own, personal copies of the tax returns. Make sure the copy is of a form with the petitioner's signature on it, or that you send a copy of the e-signature authorization.

If you are self-employed, instead of a copy of your last-filed income tax return, the State Department will accept a report from a commercial rating concern (a company that provides credit reports about businesses).

Letter from U.S. citizen's bank(s) confirming the account(s). The U.S. citizen (you) should ask all of your banks holding money reported in Form I-134 to draft simple letters confirming the accounts. The letters can be addressed "To Whom It May Concern," and should state the date the account was opened, the total amount deposited over the last year, and the present balance. Banks will often (without your asking) also state an average balance. Be aware that if this is much lower than the present amount, the consulate will wonder whether the U.S. citizen got a quick loan from a friend to make the financial situation look more impressive. Some consulates prefer a recent bank statement instead.

Bond information. If you stated the amount of bonds you hold, create a list containing their serial numbers and denominations with the name of the record owner(s) of each bond.

Employer letter. It helps to also obtain a letter confirming the U.S. citizen sponsor's employment, which should include the date and nature of employment, salary, and whether the position is temporary or permanent. Here is a sample letter, which you can show the employer when making this request.

Sample Letter From Employer

Hitting the Road Trucking
222 Plaza Place
Outthereville, MA 90000

May 22, 20xx

To Whom It May Concern:

Ron Goodley has been an employee of Hitting the Road Trucking since September 4, 20xx, a total of over five years. He has a full-time position as a driver. His salary is $45,000 per year. This position is permanent, and Ron's prospects for performance-based advancement and salary increases are excellent.

Very truly yours,
Bob Bossman
Bob Bossman
Personnel Manager
Hitting the Road Trucking

Proof of Any Assets Listed on Form I-134

This might include, for example, copies of the title to a home and mortgage documents, car, or boat, along with appraisal reports; or a copy of a recent statement from an investment or retirement account. Mortgage and other financing documents should show the amount paid and the balance left, which you can use along with an appraisal to determine the cash value for purposes of the form. USCIS will only consider the value of your car or other vehicle if you own more than one, presumably because if you only have one vehicle you are unlikely to sell that to convert it to cash to support your fiancé. If you own more than one vehicle, you should list only your secondary vehicle.

Is One I-134 Enough, Or Do Children Need Their Own?

If you are the U.S. citizen and your foreign-born fiancé is immigrating with children, the children won't need separate Forms I-134; listing them on the I-134 you fill out is sufficient.

How an Attorney Can Help

Although hiring an immigration attorney is not required for this type of application, you might nevertheless find that consulting with or hiring an experienced immigration attorney. is a good way to help ensure that all of the legal strategies available to you are explored and that you receive help with the paperwork and bureaucracy.