Joint Sponsor - I-864 - how long liable?

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venkata6

New Member
hey,
I went to India to get married in 2007 and worked there for 5 years. We have 2 kids and me and kids have US passports. We decided to relocate back to US and I applied for GC for my wife in March 2012 in India. US consulate told I have to have domicile in US. So I quit my job and came to US last week. I am yet to get a job. Now the consulate is asking to give a joint sponsor ( I-864 ).
I asked few of my friends. They are saying the contract for 10 years .. I need the joint sponsorship only till I get a job.
I mean I need a joint sponsorship to expedite/quicken my family arrival here. Else I need to find a job and send 2 month payslip which may take take few months at the least. ( which is tough for me as I terribly miss my kids) .. I have enough money in bank but consulate refuses to recognise that !!
My question is to assuage friend's concern, is there anyway I can remove the joint sponsorship once I get a decent job ?? ( so that they are not liable after say 6 months )

thanks in advance

regards
venkat a
 
venkata6 said:
I have enough money in bank but consulate refuses to recognise that !!
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They are supposed to recognize money in a bank account. If they're not accepting it, it must be because you don't have enough money.

For marriage to a US citizen, every $3 of assets offsets the income requirement by $1.

For a household size of 4, the required income level is $28,812 (unless you're in Hawaii and Alaska). $28,812 x 3 = $86,436 is how much you'll need if your income is zero.

My question is to assuage friend's concern, is there anyway I can remove the joint sponsorship once I get a decent job ?? ( so that they are not liable after say 6 months )
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Once the green card is approved, the sponsorship obligation cannot be withdrawn. At that point, it will terminate only when one of the following happen:

1. The sponsored immigrant becomes a US citizen.
2. The immigrant leaves the US and loses permanent resident status (whether voluntarily or by revocation/deportation).
3. The immigrant accumulates 10 years of Social Security credits.
4. The immigrant dies.

#1 could happen in 3 years.
 
thanks for the quick reply !
yes, i do have more than $86,436 though they are part of 401k and mutual funds
are the 401k excepted ??

thanks !!
 
I don't think they count the 401k while the funds are still in it. Money inside a 401(k) is protected from lawsuits, so they can't force you to use it to support an immigrant.

And even if they counted it, they would reduce the amount by 30-50% if you're under 59 and a half years old because of the taxes and 10% early withdrawal penalty.
 
no , 30-40% tax bracket wont hold because the reason they are asking for joint-sponsor is i dont have job. if i have job, i wont have to ask for joint-sponsor .. but 10% early withdrawal penalty will hold though

the downside of applying in US consulates abroad is there is no way we can know if any rules are overlooked since we can't communicate with them !

any way thanks for the reply !!

regards
venkat a
 
venkata6 said:
They are saying the contract for 10 years ..
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It is not "for 10 years". It is forever until one of the termination conditions applies. These include, the person becomes a citizen, abandons green card and leaves, or having earned 40 quarters for the purposes of social security. That does not mean it will end after 10 years. If the person does not work, then they will earn no quarters, and the contract will never end, and you will be forever liable (if they do not become a citizen or abandon green card).
 
venkata6 said:
no , 30-40% tax bracket wont hold because the reason they are asking for joint-sponsor is i dont have job. if i have job, i wont have to ask for joint-sponsor .. but 10% early withdrawal penalty will hold though
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Whatever non-cash assets you show, they're concerned about the money you'd get in your hand if you liquidated within a year. So they'd assume withdrawing the whole $86K in a year, which would put you in a higher tax bracket.
 
It kinda sounds like a Catch-22: To sponsor someone for immigration, you need income; you have a job that can satisfy that. But to sponsor someone you also need to become domiciled in the U.S., which means you need to leave your job. But now you don't have income anymore. ...
 
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