Today’s topic is about affidavit of support. It’s the form you know when you’re applying for a green card for residency. You know that there’s, you know, a stumbling block that because you might not have enough income. Or let’s say you’re the four national and you’re sponsor. Your US. Citizen spouse or parent may not have enough funds in the sense that you don’t have a current job that has that can show enough.

Ok, so we’re going to show you the chart. Even if you have a job as a foreign national, unfortunately, your income does not count. Unless you have a valid work permit. But other scenarios. My sponsor doesn’t have a job and you’re thinking that my stop you. Well here, let’s take a look. Just show you in general, sponsors household size of two. Let’s say it’s a spouse case. You don’t have any children. No dependence on the on your tax return. There’s just two people. Ok, if you’re not in the military, OK, then you skip the middle column here and then you go to the right side where it says a hundred twenty five percent % most of you all know how to take a look at this if you just Google search is eight sixty four.

And it should pop right up the first page. But of course, when you’re searching for things especially related to law, be careful which one you click. Ok, as you know, have more family members or more dependents. Maybe they’re not your own child, but they’re dependent on your tax return that you need to, you know, go down the line here. So 20, 200887 Let’s just use an example here. Let’s say you don’t have a job or your sponsor don’t have it does have a job. That’s OK, you can use. Your assets, and when people think of the word assets, most people think of. Oh, I need a house. Yeah, a house can help. Ok.

Any property you may own can help. You can use the equity in that. Ok. It’s not equity is the amount that you already paid into that property, for example. And so you just take the difference from the, you just have to look at back at your, you know, mortgage statements and all that, how much you’ve already paid. And we provide those kind of documents, mortgage statement to USCIS. All right. But of course, if you don’t have a lawyer, This is why I’m creating, I’m sharing this information.

So that you know what to do. So that’s option one, use the equity from your house or option two. Or you can use a combination of it, you know, use the cash or savings or stocks. That’s equity. Technically that’s money. Ok? That’s real money in your accounts or your retirement accounts. You can use that when it’s a case involving a spouse. Then you do three times the amount, right. If there’s a difference, so twenty two eight seven. Let’s say you do have a job. Ok, let’s use that example. Let’s say a job pays you 21,000 thousand the, difference is eighteen eighty. Seven and by the way, it’s not even if you didn’t have a job last year or even like last month, but now you have a job, totally fine.

The government wants to know the anticipated income as if you worked for a full year. Ok. So that’s very key. I know people have been getting a lot of requests for evidence based. On not even marriage evidence, it’s about the financial sponsorship. I think it’s a bunch of baloney from the government. But you know, that’s just another way that they’re trying to stop people from getting status. So try not to take no for an answer. There’s another way. So let’s say your job pays you 21,000 thousand and you the pay stubs amount to that for the full year calendar year.

So the difference is 1887 If it’s a spouse case, you times it by three. Ok, so the difference is 1887 times 3 don’t know. I see my all right that’s 5661 OK is it is the times three difference. So in that sense you need to show that your account any of your cash accounts or retirement stocks checking or savings you have to show the amount at least 5661 OK at the time that you’re you know let’s say you’re responding to request for evidence or when you initially fire case OK because if possible you want really want to provide this form. Eight sixty four and if you file yourself, if you want to let them know in advance, let them know because they’re going to see it that you don’t have enough income in that.

In that sense. Let them know you’re going to provide them this information later on when it gets closer to interview because you don’t want to get a situation that maybe just US just straight straight out deny your case. And that will be really frustrating because you’re already paid all these fees when it comes to residency plus to petition form for so the four eighty five plus the i one thirty. 17 Sixty, one thousand seven hundred sixty I remember all these random fees numbers.

So don’t think I’m crazy because I look at this stuff pretty much every single day. But yeah, it can be included real estate property. But probably if you have property, there’s probably not a concern for you yeah i’m trying to think a scenario like this because pandemic, you might have, you know some people have lost their jobs. Some people got a job, a new job or return their to the previous job. But you know, maybe the situation you just don’t want to work.

I totally get it. I’ve been told I gotta keep working so to help you all out so I can’t stop. But for y’all that are watching this and you just want to take it from break from work it might be OK because as long as you have, you know you can do the times three if it’s a spouse case or times five, it’s not. If it’s not a spouse case then you can, you know, if you have that amount then yeah you could just chill out.

Take a break this whole like yeah. I mean I’m telling you if you are thinking to move to America or against and want to stay in America we don’t, we don’t just chill usually. That’s why this whole pandemic has really, at least speaking with friends, this is really in clients. This has really been like eye opening, you know maybe just doing other kind of work or things like that. I know a lot of lawyers are trying to think of other ways to do different type of work actually it’s not just the non legal field of course because we’re on this like twenty four seven clock, but I really care about my team.

So we do have parameters we typically don’t answer on the weekend, OK, unless I just happen to have a chance to look at emails or my team does but. At the same time, we are very intentional in offering. Free 15 minute appointments as a client and it’s included with the flat fee. Ok, we don’t we normally 99.9% do not charge hourly rates. There’s some immigration law firms that do, but we do offer three different plans. Ok Pro plan, Max and then light plan so it lists all the services available.

Max plan usually is the one that offers includes the attorney representation at your interview and also to help. Respond to the request for evidence or knowing now we try our best to respond to or not just respond but file the case with as much proper evidence needed. Now we’re not going to give them a whole stack. Ok, we’re not like that kind of law firm but I heard a lot of some law firms that only provide the forms and maybe the mayor should we get that’s not enough. We’re preparing cases as if it should be approved. Ok, but if there were no interview. If it’s a case not involving a spouse.

Some of y’all have that situation where it could be maybe a parent sponsoring, you know, of course depending on the age of it’ll be like family preference, F1 through four or sibling. Then it’s times five. Ok, now this times 3 times 5 using your assets. This is an option if you truly believe you can’t find a joint sponsor. Or maybe you tried to find one and your joint sponsor. You know your friend or family coworker. It doesn’t have to be a family member. Like an honor, you know, a cousin or something.

It could be someone random actually you know, it doesn’t have to be someone you know. But of course, I would think you would want to ask someone who you trust to some extent that they know that you’re going through this immigration journey. Ok with our team. But yeah, here’s the other thing. You need to know when you’re prepared to ask someone to be a joint sponsor. These are hot tips right here. So the tip number one about how to what to ask.

A joint like someone to be a joint sponsor, the first thing is, well, maybe not to ask yet. What you need to know is verify that there are US. Citizen or a resident holder. Now if they have sponsored someone recently and that person is not a US citizen yet, you have to add them. You know people always ask, well can that person still sponsor? Yes they can. But you know what you want to ask also is how many people? Are in their household because that counts towards the household size. If you got two friends or coworkers there, you know they have good salary, high enough salary above the guidelines here.

Then you pick you ask the family or the person who has less people in their family, because then. It’s just always better in terms of documentation. Ok now if his apples, apples and you know you trust both of them and they have similar salary. Yeah, ask the one that has probably less dependence. That’s what we recommend, OK, because that can save you a lot of time because sometimes at least in the past we’ve now we’ve provided better guidelines with our clients. But in the past someone, a client would ask someone who has a lot of family members.

But the even though it may appear to be higher income maybe than yours then or your sponsor, it’s still like. You know it goes, it’s just way. It’s way too much in terms of the government. Do you have to file the sponsor form at the same time as you filed? An entire case of course is preferable. But if you don’t for some reason, just because of timing, don’t delay filing your case in general, if you have everything else ready, but just marking a letter right to USCIS that you can provide your joint sponsor form when you receive a request for evidence or as soon as you get the documentation ready from the joint sponsor.

And here’s the deal. Just like I have the scrolling text down here at the bottom is that because there’s delays all the time by the government, US there’s delays. We have some now don’t get me wrong, there are some cases especially these days with USCIS that we receive them client received the EAD work permit after about three months from filing, OK, because they finally, I hope they change the process. It seems they have and at least one office. We have some clients that unfortunately their case because it’s older file that many months ago. They’re still waiting on EAD.

Ok, so this at this point, this is when of course we’re inquiring with USCIS on the case, but it happens. Ok, USCIS is it’s difficult to explain what’s going on in their internal systems. Don’t wait to file just because you don’t have enough like the sponsored form ready or you don’t have a job. There could be another solution. So hopefully my tips here and this video can help you. This is the way to. Go to our website, green card guys. Com the first thing is go to contact us page, Scroll down, take the free quiz and then just answer a few questions.

Not too much, we don’t want to have you spend too much time on it. And then it’ll take you after you click submit, it’ll take you to the next page you go and schedule the free 15 minute appointment. I hope the tips that we share with you were helpful. If there’s of course probably other so many other ways that you can go around the sponsorship situation. But takeaway here is don’t give up. You might be able to still. Properly show more money cash than what your sponsor can show. Ok. All right. Thank you so much and I wish you a wonderful day.