What is the I-864 for?
It is a contract, and the instructions say so. The obligation lasts until the immigrant becomes a citizen, accumulates a certain amount of work, leaves the country, or dies.
It asks for the sponsor's income per their taxes, their household size, and, if needed, their assets. USCIS publishes the minimum income table in the I-864P; we do not write it here because it changes every year.
The instructions describe the joint sponsor for when income falls short. Whether yours is enough, and who else may sign, are legal questions Paso Libre does not answer.
Who usually files it?
- According to the USCIS instructions: the citizen or resident who filed the I-130 for their relative. That petitioner always signs, even if their income falls short.
- According to the USCIS instructions: a joint sponsor — another person with sufficient income — when the petitioner does not reach the table's minimum.
- According to the USCIS instructions: it is filed with the I-485 inside the country, or sent to the National Visa Center in consular cases.