Next, you, the immigrant, will receive what’s called a Choice of Address and Agent form (DS-3032) from the NVC. This is a fairly simple form—but don’t let its simplicity fool you. By choosing an “agent,” as the form asks for, you’re essentially deciding where all the important mail from the U.S. government regarding your immigration should go—to you at your overseas address, or to someone else, most likely your petitioner in the U.S. (if you’re not using an attorney). If mail service from the U.S. has been at all unreliable where you live, or if you might be moving before your visa interview, it’s safest to choose your petitioner as agent, and write in the U.S. address.

WEB RESOURCE

This form is available on the State Department website at www.state.gov. A sample filled-in version of this form is shown below.

At the same time, the NVC will send a bill for processing the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864—the fee is currently $70) to your petitioner. After the petitioner pays the fee, the NVC will send further instructions on preparing and submitting Form I-864.

Sample Form DS-3032, Choice of Address and Agent

Then, once the NVC receives your Form DS-3032, it will mail you a bill for the immigrant visa processing fee (currently $400). Once the visa fee is paid, the NVC will send you further instructions.

Those instructions will probably tell you to fill out various forms (either sent to you by the NVC or that you’ll be told where to download online) and return them to the NVC. The NVC will review all of your documents before finally sending you an appointment notice for your interview at a U.S. consulate in your home country.

However, this whole system is still in transition—some applicants will still have their files transferred to a U.S. consulate early in the process (the old system), and will receive instructions and an appointment notice directly from the consulate.

In either case, the important thing will be for you to follow the instructions carefully. If you make a mistake—for example you forget to send in a form or document, forget to sign one of the forms, or you enter inconsistent information on different forms—you’ll normally get a second chance. The NVC will send you what’s called a “checklist,” setting out what you need to do and giving you a barcode sheet to include with your response. Again, read the instructions carefully and try to get it exactly right—every mistake you make delays your case and could eventually lead to the visa being denied.

TIP

When sending original documents, always include a copy. The NVC will request various original documents, like your original birth and marriage certificate. You may feel understandably nervous about sending in these original documents. So long as you remember to also include a copy of the document, you’ll get the original back when you go to your visa interview.

a. Line-by-Line Instructions for Step Two Forms

You will receive all the forms you need (or instructions on downloading them) from the NVC or the relevant consulate after your I-130 visa petition has been approved and your fees paid. Certain forms vary among consulates (for example, some include translations into the language of that country), so they may not look exactly like the samples in this book.

i. Form DS-230 Part I

This form is used to collect basic biographic information about you, such as your address and the names of your children.

WEB RESOURCE

Form DS-230 Part I is available on the State Department website at www.state.gov. However, use the form that you get from the U.S. consulate if it’s different. Below is a sample filled-in version of this form.

Questions 1-28: Self-explanatory (similar to the questions on Form I-130; see Subsection 3a, above).

Question 29: List all your children. You’ll have a chance to identify which ones are immigrating with you later.

Question 30: Self-explanatory.

Question 31a: List only those children of yours who also have an approved I-130 visa petition and will be immigrating with you at the same time.

Question 31b: List only those children who have an approved I-130 visa petition and will be following to join you.

Questions 32-34: Self-explanatory.

Question 35: If you’ve spent more than 180 days in the United States without a valid visa or other right to live in the United States after April 1, 1997 you need to see a lawyer before going any further. (See Chapter 2, Section A, for more information on this issue.)

Don’t forget to sign this form at the bottom.

Sample Form DS-230 Part I, Application for Immigration Visa and Alien Registration—Page 1

Sample Form DS-230 Part I, Application for Immigration Visa and Alien Registration—Page 2

Sample Form DS-230 Part II, Application for Immigration Visa and Alien Registration—Page 1

Sample Form DS-230 Part II, Application for Immigration Visa and Alien Registration—Page 2

ii. Form DS-230 Part II

Form DS-230 Part II is fairly short—it’s intended to give final confirmation of who you are and where you’re going. Most of this form is self-explanatory. Because consulates use different versions of this form, we can’t give you the number that a question will appear under.

WEB RESOURCE

Form DS-230 Part II is available on the State Department website at www.state.gov. However, it’s best to use the form you receive from the NVC or U.S. consulate because it may be slightly different. Above is a sample filled-in version of this form.

If the form asks, the “person you intend to join” and the “sponsoring person” are both your spouse, and you’ll need to enter his or her name, perhaps twice.

A few versions of the form still ask about your “purpose in going to the United States”; the answer is to “immigrate.” And, if the form asks, your “length of intended stay” is “permanent.”

The “yes or no” questions (with boxes to check) refer to the grounds of inadmissibility described in Chapter 2. If you check “yes” on any of them, consult a lawyer immediately, before sending in the form.

Signature line: Don’t sign until the interview!

iii. Form I-864

Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support, is the primary form that your spouse and any joint sponsor will use to prove that he, she, or they are willing and able to support you. (You might need a joint sponsor to assist in supporting you if your spouse’s income and assets aren’t high enough to reach the government’s guidelines, as covered in Chapter 3.)

TIP

Some sponsors can use a simpler version of Form I-864. If the sponsor has enough income so that he or she doesn’t need to resort to assets or other help to sponsor the immigrant(s), it’s okay to use Form I-864EZ, available at www.uscis.gov.

Before you fill out this form, look again at Chapter 3, Meeting Income Requirements, which explains how USCIS will evaluate your finances and those of your spouse. This chapter gives you strategies on meeting the minimum requirements if your own resources are too low. The following subsection, “Financial Documents to Have on Hand,” gives you information on how to create, assemble, or prepare the supporting documentation that you may need to attach to the forms discussed below.

TIP

U.S. citizens with long work histories and long marriages may be able to avoid filling out an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864). The reason is that their obligations to act as sponsors end after the immigrant has worked 40 quarters (about ten years, depending on earnings amounts)—but, in an interesting twist, the immigrants can be credited with work done by their U.S. citizen spouses while they were married. So, if your U.S. citizen spouse has worked 40 quarters in the U.S. during your marriage, he or she need not fill out Form I-864. Though it’s the rare married couple who will have gone this many years without applying for a green card, the exception is highly useful for those to whom it applies. You will need to submit Form I-864W (available from www.uscis.gov) in order to claim this exception (and attach a Social Security Statement as proof).

WEB RESOURCE

Form I-864 is available on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov. Below is a sample filled-in version of this form.

Because this form may be filled out either by your spouse or by a joint sponsor, the instructions below usually refer to the “sponsor,” which refers to either of them.

Parts 1-4

These sections are self-explanatory, with the following notes:

• In Part 1, spouses check box a; long-lost cousins, fairy godmothers, and other nice friends who agreed to fill in this form as joint sponsors check either box d or box e.

• In Part 3, note that there’s a place to list children. You don’t need to name children who were born in the United States, because the sponsor has no obligation to support them (at least not under the immigration laws, though they will be counted elsewhere within this form to test the sponsor’s overall financial capacity). Similarly, you shouldn’t name children who are immigrating with you. Because each of them had their own visa petition (Form I-130), each is considered a “principal immigrant” and needs a separate Form I-864 prepared for him or her.

• In Part 4, note that the sponsor’s place of residence must be in the United States in order for him or her to be eligible as a financial sponsor. In theory, if your petitioner lives outside the U.S., he or she can meet this requirement by showing the steps taken to return to the U.S. and make the U.S. his or her residence as soon as you enter. Such steps might include finding U.S. employment, locating a place to live, and registering children in U.S. schools. The Affidavit of Support should also show that the petitioner has made arrangements to give up residence outside the United States.

Part 5, Sponsor’s household size

This section is self-explanatory. Remember not to count anyone twice! In other words, there’s no need to put a “1” in line “c,” because you’ve already counted your spouse.

Part 6, Sponsor’s income and employment

Question 22: The sponsor needs to fill in information about his or her employment here. Self-employment is fine. Be aware that if a self-employed sponsor has underreported income in the past, the earnings shown may not be sufficient to support you. In that case, the sponsor will need to file an amended tax return and pay a penalty before the newly reported income is accepted as meeting the guidelines for sponsorship.

Question 23: Here, the sponsor is supposed to enter the income shown on his or her most recent tax return. But what if the sponsor’s income has risen since filing those taxes? In that case, the sponsor should enter the more recent income figure, but put an asterisk (an *) next to it. Then find some white space somewhere on the page and write “this figure reflects present earnings, not earnings shown on tax return; see supporting documentation.” The documentation the sponsor is already providing, such as an employer’s letter, should be enough to show current income.

Question 24: This question is important for sponsors whose income is not enough by itself, but who will be using the income of members of their household to help meet the Poverty Guidelines minimum requirements. First, every sponsor must state his or her own income. Then, if the sponsor wants other people’s income counted, they must be mentioned in Question 24b and the sponsor must check box 24d. Unless any one of these household members is the actual immigrant, they must plan to complete a separate agreement with the sponsor, using Form I-864A. The total income from the sponsor and household members goes in Question 24c.

Question 25: Self-explanatory.

Sample Form I-864, Affidavit of Support—Page 1

Sample Form I-864, Affidavit of Support—Page 2

Sample Form I-864, Affidavit of Support—Page 3

Sample Form I-864, Affidavit of Support—Page 4

Sample Form I-864, Affidavit of Support—Page 5

Sample Form I-864, Affidavit of Support—Page 6

Sample Form I-864, Affidavit of Support—Page 7

Sample Form I-864, Affidavit of Support—Page 8

Part 7, Use of assets to supplement income

The sponsor needs to complete this section only if his or her income wasn’t enough by itself to meet the Poverty Guidelines requirements. If the sponsor needs to add assets, he or she may include such items as a house, car, or boat, but should remember to subtract debts, mortgages, and liens before writing down their value in Question 26. And remember that the value of these assets will later be divided by three before being used to meet the Poverty Guidelines minimum. (Or divided by five if someone other than your spouse is filling out the form.)

If some of the assets being used to meet the minimum belong to a household member, enter the household member’s name in Question 27, along with the total amount the assets are worth.

If some of the assets being used to meet the minimum belong to the immigrant, state their value in Question 28.

Be sure to attach docu ments to prove the ownership, location, and value of any assets claimed.

If the combination of the sponsor’s available income and one third of the sponsor’s and/or the immigrant’s assets don’t yet meet the Poverty Guidelines minimum, you’ll still need to hand in this Affidavit. But you’ll definitely want to look for a joint sponsor or a participating household member.

Part 8, Sponsor’s Contract

Unlike past versions of this form, the sponsor’s signature no longer needs to be witnessed by a notary public.

TIP

Need to prepare Affidavits for several family members at once? If the sponsor is bringing in more than one person (you and your children) in the same process, he or she can simply copy Form I-864 (with supporting documents) the appropriate number of times after signing it.

iv. Form I-864A

Not every immigrant needs to submit this form. It is only required if, on the main Form I-864, the sponsor had to use the income of members of the sponsor’s household to meet the Poverty Guidelines. In that case, these household member(s) will need to fill out portions of Form I-864A. The sponsor must attach the Form I-864A to the main Form I-864.

WEB RESOURCE

Form I-864A is available on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov. Below is a sample filled-in version of this form.

Part 1: Self-explanatory; to be filled out by the household member.

Part 2: This part is filled out and signed by the main sponsor (the U.S. citizen spouse). Just fill in the names of the immigrants being sponsored and don’t worry about the legal language.

Part 3: This is where the household member will fill in and sign the form.

v. Form I-864W

Only a few lucky people will be able to use this form, namely those who are exempt from the Affidavit of Support requirement because the immigrant has either:

• worked lawfully for 40 Social Security quarters (approximately ten years) in the U.S.

• been married while the U.S. spouse worked for 40 Social Security quarters, or

• a combination of the above.

The deal is that a financial sponsor’s responsibility lasts until the immigrant has (among other possibilities) earned 40 work quarters credited toward Social Security. A work quarter is approximately three months, but it depends partly on how much you earn. So if you’ve already reached that amount of work on your own, through lawful employment—perhaps while in the U.S. as a student or H-1B worker—there’s no point in the sponsor filling out an Affidavit of Support for you. And, in an interesting twist, you can be credited for work done by your U.S. spouse if it was during your marriage.

Sample Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member—Page 1

Sample Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member—Page 2

Sample Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member—Page 3

You’ll need to prove to USCIS how many quarters of work your spouse or you has done. Contact Social Security about getting a certified statement with this information.

Because Form I-864W is fairly easy to fill out, we won’t include a sample here. The form is available at www.uscis.gov. In Part 2, you would check the first box.

b. Financial Documents to Have on Hand

To prove that your spouse or additional sponsors are able and willing to support you, the consulate will require detailed, up-to-date information from trustworthy sources. The types of documents they look for are described below.

i. Documents to Accompany Form I-864

Form I-864 asks for several supporting documents. If your spouse is relying on a joint sponsor (outside the household), that person should also be told to assemble a set of these documents:

• A copy of your spouse/sponsor’s federal income tax returns for the last three years, with W-2s. Don’t include state tax forms. The immigration authorities prefer to see federal tax returns in the form of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) transcripts (an IRS-generated summary of the return that was filed). Transcripts can be requested using IRS Form 4506T (available from www.irs.gov or by calling 800-829-1040). However, it usually takes several weeks to receive the transcript. Don’t let this hold up the immigration process—if the transcript hasn’t come by the time you need to submit the Form I-864, simply use your sponsor’s personal photocopies of his or her tax returns. And if the sponsor wasn’t legally required to submit a tax return, perhaps because his or her income was too low, submit a written explanation of this.

TIP

We’re advising you to prepare more than the minimum financial documents. Technically, you’re supposed to be asked for only one year’s tax returns, and that’s it. But because so many consulates ask for more, it makes sense to be ready with additional years’ tax returns plus a bank and employer letter.

• Proof of your sponsor’s current employment. Start with a letter from the sponsor’s employer describing the dates of employment, nature of the job, wages/salary, time worked per week, and prospects for advancement. (See the sample employer letter below.) Also include copies of pay stubs covering the last six months, or the most recent stub if it shows cumulative pay. If the sponsor is self-employed, a tax return is acceptable, but it’s a good idea to add a business license, copies of current receipts, or other supporting documents.

• A list of assets (the sponsor’s and/or the immigrant’s), if they must be used to meet the Poverty Guidelines’ minimum. There is no form to use for creating this list. Simply prepare (on a typewriter or word processor) a list or table with the following information:

• a brief description of the item

• current value

• remaining debt (if any)

• a brief description of the document you’ve attached to prove ownership.

• Proof of ownership of assets (the sponsor’s and/or the immigrant’s), if any were listed. Form I-864 itself does a good job of detailing which documents will be accepted as proof of ownership of assets, as explained in Part 7 of the instructions, Use of Assets to Supplement Income. The value must be the likely sale price, not how much the sponsor paid for the property. For real estate, you can use a tax assessment to show the value. If the assessment seems too low, or for property other than real estate, the sponsor can hire a professional appraiser to prepare an estimate and report. For cars, the value listed in the Kelley Blue Book is acceptable. Look for the Kelley Blue Book at a library or bookstore, or online at www.kbb.com. The sponsor must also document the amount of any debt remaining on the property. If no debt remains, submit proof of final payment.

CAUTION

You may need to update your information later. By the time you get to your visa interview, circumstances may have changed for your sponsor, joint sponsor, or household joint sponsor. For example, if the sponsor or joint sponsor have new or different employment, bring a job letter and copies of recent pay stubs; and if a new tax year has begun, bring copies of the sponsor(s)’ most recent tax returns.

Sample Letter Showing
Sponsor’s Employment

ii. Documents to Accompany Form I-864A

You will submit Form I-864A only if your spouse needs to rely on the financial contributions of members of his or her household. Form I-864A also requires several supporting documents. These include not only proof of the joint sponsors’ financial capacity, but proof that they live with and are related to the main sponsor.

• Proof that the household joint sponsors live with the primary sponsor. Such proof can include a copy of the rental agreement showing the household member’s name, and copies of items that show the same address as the sponsor (such as a driver’s license, copies of school records, copies of utility bills, or personal correspondence).

• Proof that the household joint sponsors are related to the primary sponsor (if they’re not already listed as relations on the sponsor’s tax return). The best way to prove this family relationship is through birth certificates. If, for example, the sponsor and household joint sponsor are parent and child, the child’s birth certificate will do. If they are brother and sister, providing both birth certificates will work (as long as the certificates show that they share the same parent or parents). If the birth certificates don’t make the family relationships clear, look for other official documents such as court or school records to confirm the parent-child links.

• Copies of the household joint sponsors’ tax returns for the last three years. As with the primary sponsor, the government prefers to see IRS-generated tax transcripts.

• Proof of the household joint sponsors’ employment. This can include a letter from their employer confirming employment, as in the sample above, and recent pay stubs.

• A list of the household joint sponsors’ assets if they must be used to meet the Poverty Guidelines’ minimum. There is no form for creating this list. Using a typewriter or word processor, the household joint sponsors should prepare a list or table with the following information:

• brief description of item

• current value

• remaining debt (if any)

• brief description of the document attached to prove ownership.

• Proof of ownership of household joint sponsors’ assets, if any were listed.

• A list of the benefits programs and dates of receipt if the household joint sponsors or their dependents have used financial need-based public benefits in the last three years.

c. Other Documents to Prepare

You’ll be asked to prepare various other documents, such as your birth certificate, marriage certificate, passport, and police certificates from countries where you’ve lived. These will be well-explained in the instructions you receive, so we won’t review them further here.

You’ll need to obtain a police certificate (hopefully showing your clean record) only if such certificates are available in your country. You can find information on whether and how to obtain police certificates in your country on the State Department’s visa reciprocity tables at http://travel.state.gov (under “Visa for Foreign Citizens,” click “more,” then in the box on the left-hand side of the page click on “Fees and Reciprocity Tables,” then click “Visa Issuance Fee–Reciprocity Tables,” enter your country in the box, and scroll down for information).

If you don’t have a clean record, see a lawyer.

d. Documenting That Your Marriage Is Bona Fide

You may be asked for evidence that your marriage is a real one, not a sham. Gather and photocopy as many of the following items as possible:

• rental agreements, leases, or mortgages showing that you have lived together and/or have leased or bought property in both spouses’ names

• hotel and airplane receipts showing trips that you have taken together or to visit one another

• phone bills showing your conversations

• copies of letters and emails between you

• your mutual child’s birth certificate or a doctor’s report saying that you are pregnant

• joint bank statements

• joint credit card statements

• evidence that one spouse has made the other a beneficiary on his/her life or health insurance or retirement account

• auto registrations showing joint ownership and/or addresses

• joint club memberships

• receipts for gifts that you purchased for one another (these should be items that are normally considered gifts, such as flowers, candy, jewelry, and art)

• letters from friends and family to each or both of you, mailed to an address where you were living together

• photos of you and your spouse taken before and during your marriage, including at your wedding (the government knows wedding pictures can be faked, but some officers enjoy seeing them anyway). The photos should, if possible, include parents and other relatives from both families. Write the date the picture was taken and a brief description of what the photo shows on the back (or underneath, if you’re photocopying them). Don’t bother with the wedding or other videos; there won’t be time or a space to view them.

e. Using the Checklist for Forms and Documents

Although you must fill out only a few forms, you and your spouse will be responsible for pulling together a great deal of supporting documents, financial and otherwise. It will be particularly important to use the checklist to keep track of everything.

All the checklist items concerning Form I-864 apply whether it’s your spouse filling it out or a joint sponsor who is willing to assist in supporting you; see Chapter 3 for more on joint sponsorship.

CHECKLIST

Appendix C includes a tear-out copy of this checklist.