Immigration Sponsorship

Question:

My wife and I are US citizens sponsoring her daughter's husband's immigration process from Sweden. They have retained an immigration lawyer and we, as sponsors, have filled out our portion of the forms, but we have some concerns: 1) If she ever needs government assistance for higher education, food stamps etc. that she won't qualify because we are sponsoring her husband with both of our incomes. 2) What happens to us if they divorce before their 10 year commitment to the sponsorship has ended; does that our commitment has ended as well? 3) If they do divorce, does he have to return to Sweden?

Answer:

That's a concern for us US taxpayers that foot the bill for those kinds of assistance. Why would she ever need such assistance when you are SPONORING her? What do you think SPONSOR is about? How about that it doesn't place a burden on the existing taxpayers?

OP stated that he and his wife are sponsoring the daughter's husband, not the daughter. The daughter is presumably a US citizen.

Why should she be denied government assistance based solely on the fact that she is married to a non-US citizen?

To the OP, as I understand it, your 10 year commitment will continue even if they divorce, as long as he is still in the US.

If they divorce, he may or may not have to leave, depending on whether he is able to remove conditions from his green card. If they have been married less than two years when he gets the green card, it will have conditions for two years. After that, he will be able to stay in the US. Even if they divorce before the conditions have been removed, he may still be able to get the green card with no conditions.

My gut feeling to your query is that you don't expect the marriage to last and if that's the case, I would think long and hard before agreeing to this sponsorship.

Yes. The daughter and her husband are responsible for caring for themselves. The sponsor has guaranteed to pay for the husband, and should pay sufficiently that the daughter doesn't use welfare. If both were US citizens, would the wife be able to claim government assistance if the husband could pay?

Divorce does not terminate the obligation. By signing this form, you, the sponsor, agree to support the intending immigrant and any spouse and/or children immigrating with him or her and to reimburse any government agency or private entity that provides these sponsored immigrants with Federal, State, or local means-tested public benefits."

Many ppl make the mistake of "10 year" because that is the length of 40 working quarters. I'm sure you'll agree that turning in 40 quarters of work is different than simply allowing 10 years to pass.

Also stay clear that you are the secondary sponsors; your daughter will always be the primary sponsor and she will be first in line to reimburse any *means tested* benefits he receives. Welfare and Medicare are the top 2 means tested benes. Higher Ed financing is not, don't recall off the top if food stamps are.

If they divorce, he does not necessarily have to leave the US. Yes, potentially, they could be divorced and your daughter and then yourself are still responsible under the contract.

FWIW, my parents completed a co-sponsor doc for my husband, My rationale to them included: First, I would need to be in a postition to need means-tested assistance. Knowing that this was unlikely for me, and should it ever happen I would likely first go to family for help, this seems a fair risk (in our family). Additionally, if it came to this for my family, *I* would take the benes rather than my husband.

Second, they are second in line for repayment. See above. We would handle financial hardship w/in our family before getting benes, but that's us. The length of the contract and the spectre of divorce become items of faith. 2 years into our marriage and learning what I've learned, I think they took a huge risk *based on what they knew then*. I can not see divorce in this relationship's future and am satisfied with my husband's desire to naturalize at his earliest opportunity (lifting the obligation of the I-864).

There were a couple of parent posts in the past year or so at the marriage-based visa group. One fellow even had his lawyer check it out. I will look up the link for you later.

Originally posted by meauxna There were a couple of parent posts in the past year or so at the marriage-based visa group. One fellow even had his lawyer check it out. I will look up the link for you later.

http://tinyurl.com/2b9ap

I don't understand that "10 year commitment to the sponsorship"? in

Is it something related to marriage based sponsor only? And, why 10 years?

say, 15 years to work those 40 quarters. 10 years is assumed if you work for ten straight years (which is 40 quarters)

If it was about what you think it was about then the gov't should have some checks in place and enforced that assure that the sponsor is really paying the person's bills, etc. What sponsoring is ABOUT is if the beneficiary receives any means tested public assistance, they have to pay back the gov't. Sponsoring in this context does not mean the sponsor should be able to pay for the beneficiary's wife's schooling.

Sounds like you have more of a problem with the laws of the land and may be blaming it on people using the system legally. You should be lobbying in D.C. instead of here. What would solve the problem is if the gov't didn't ALLOW a non US citizen to receive any benefits as described in the sponsor application directions.

I disagree very much. I would think long and hard before you decide NOT to do it. My parents would not cosponsor my husband. I am 5 months pregnant. They don't trust me or my husband, even though they have in the past just because they don't agree with our decisions lately (we haven't commited any crimes). I was devastated my parents abandoned me and my new family. Now I am happy to know they are assholes so I don't have to worry about changing them anymore. I hope those people don't listen to the sarcastic remarks made on this newsgroup and stick with what is important, family.

Every petitioner on Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, and some petitioners for Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker when there is a relative relationship between the employer and the employee, must file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, as part of the permanent resident process. This includes spouse, child, parent and sibling categories.

Also, if the petitioner cannot satisfy the requirements of Form I-864 because assets or income are too low, another person can file a joint I-864 to satisfy the "public charge" requirement. The joint sponsor may be any U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident. The joint sponsor who files Form I-864 also takes on all the specified financial obligations to support the beneficiary.

And, why 10 years?

I didn't mean to sound as if I had authority on this, I would consult a lawyer for specifics. My lawyer told us our joint sponsor could withdraw.

I think it depends on when/under what circumstances your joint sponsors submitted their I-864. I took the OP's comments to indicate a Direct Consular Filing which would result in an Immigrant Visa (oly because of the way his post is worded...he didn't say so outright). If that is the case, they likely will not have an opportunity to withdraw. If your case involved a K visa with subsequent Adjustment of Status, what your lawyer told you is likely so; you will have a chance to submit a new I-864 for you and your husband at the AOS interview.

I disagree very much. I would think long and hard before you decide NOT to do it. My parents would not cosponsor my husband. I am 5 months pregnant. They don't trust me or my husband, even though they have in the past just because they don't agree with our decisions lately (we haven't commited any crimes). I was devastated my parents abandoned me and my new family. Now I am happy to know they are ahole's so I don't have to worry about changing them anymore. I hope those people don't listen to the sarcastic remarks made on this newsgroup and stick with what is important, family.