WorkflowFamily & Humanitarian Immigration

Affidavit of Support Review

I-864 affidavit of support review that builds the sponsor’s household from the tax return, reads income from the transcripts and weighs both against the guideline before anyone signs.

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Walk the review, household to signature ↓

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The problem

The draft passes on the sponsor’s memory and fails on his own tax return

The sponsor fills in the draft from memory and a web calculator, and the review checks it against what he typed: the people he thinks of as his household, the wage figure on his paycheck, the form he downloaded months ago. The arithmetic looks simple, so the inputs rarely get the same scrutiny.

The trouble hides in those inputs. A parent claimed as a dependent goes missing from the household, W-2 wages sit where total income belongs, two digits trade places, or the edition is one the government no longer takes. The sponsor looked eligible, the case comes back for a corrected affidavit, and under a flat fee the second round is unpaid.

Built forImmigration attorneysParalegalsManaging attorneysNonprofit legal directors

The Problem Today

A sponsor who passes on the draft can fail on the tax return, where one forgotten dependent raises the bar.

471,229: family-based visas issued abroad in fiscal year 2024 published
$48,350: a year needed for a household of five at 125% of the guideline published

Checked by hand today

Household
Transcripts
Assets
Form fields

Sent back for a new formA wrong household size returns the case for weeks
Joint sponsor by habitWeeks of work when a relative at home would do

The Solution

Household from the returnEach dependent on the latest return counts, with the reason it counts
Income from tax recordsTranscripts, pay stubs and the employer letter read, each figure cited
Weighed against the guidelineThe table in force on signing day, against what the records show
Cheapest lawful fix, signedA relative at home adds her income; the form is checked, then signed

Built-in controls

Nothing filed without an attorney’s signature
The guideline table in force on signing day
Sponsors’ ID numbers masked in each output

What You Get

The attorney signs an affidavit with each figure traced to a tax record and any gap closed by a lawful route.

25 min: of paralegal time per affidavit with a gap, from 2.5 hours our estimate

The cheapest lawful fixEach option shows exactly how many dollars it closes
A source behind each figureClick a value to see its tax-record line
Ready for the new editionThe new form and its credit-report notice, built in

Nine screens, one affidavit

Nine parts of an I-864 affidavit of support review, in the order work runs

Count the household, read the income, weigh it, close the gap, check the form, then sign.

01Sponsorship balance
A sponsorship balance that weighs the guideline against counted income
How it works
- The guideline for the household sits on one pan, counted income on the other
- Each figure is a chip that opens its transcript, letter or pay-stub line
- The draft said a household of 4 and passed by $4,170
- At 5 people, $45,240 against $48,350 leaves the sponsor short by $3,110
Paralegal leadSpots which of her 12 open affidavits fall short before anyone tells a sponsor he qualifies.
02Who counts
Household size built from the tax return, each person with a reason
How it works
- Three columns: counts, counts only if income is used, and does not count
- Each person carries the reason and the record line it came from
- His mother is a dependent on the return, so the household is 5
- A lodger who rents a room and a grown son living elsewhere are left out, with reasons
Paralegal leadCatches the dependent hiding on the tax return before the affidavit goes out with a household size the records contradict.
03Income from the records
Income read from three years of transcripts, the total income line marked
How it works
- Total income for three tax years side by side: $44,918, $43,105 and $41,600
- Current income rebuilt two ways, and the employer letter and 12 stubs agree at $45,240
- Weekend delivery work that stopped is kept out of current income
- Nobody types a figure: each value opens the line it was read from
Supervising attorneyReads each number off the transcript line it came from, so W-2 wages never pass for total income.
04Asset substitution
Asset substitution that divides savings by the multiplier before they count
How it works
- Savings of $6,400 and checking of $1,850 count; the only car and cash at home do not
- The multiplier is 3 for a spouse or adult child of a citizen, 5 for others
- $8,250 ÷ 3 closes $2,750 of the $3,110 gap and leaves $360
- Type another amount to see what more savings would close
Paralegal leadKnows whether the sponsor’s savings can close the gap alone before asking him for twelve months of bank statements.
05Ways to close the gap
Lawful ways to close a gap, ranked by the work each takes
How it works
- Each route shows on a bar how much of the $3,110 it closes
- The sister’s I-864A closes all of it with 1 contract and 3 documents
- A joint sponsor closes it too, with a second full I-864 and 2–3 weeks
- A raise due next year is marked not allowed: future income does not count
Paralegal leadPicks the cheapest lawful route with the dollars each one closes in front of her, so a relative at home is asked before a cousin across town.
06Joint sponsor on standby
A joint sponsor weighed on his own balance and held on standby
How it works
- His household of 3 plus the 2 immigrants makes 5, needing $48,350
- His $71,800 qualifies alone, over by $23,450
- A checklist tracks his own form, tax records, stubs, proof of status and the credit notice
- Nothing is drafted for him while the sister’s contract closes the gap
Paralegal leadKeeps a fallback ready if the relative at home cannot sign, without pressing someone outside the home into a binding promise too early.
07Field check
A field-by-field check of the draft I-864 against the sponsor’s records
How it works
- The draft form sits beside eight checks, from the edition to household member income
- Household size 4 against the records’ 6, current income $45,420 against $45,240
- Total income $41,880, the wage line, against $44,918 from the transcript
- The form checker drafts each fix, and the paralegal reviews it
Paralegal leadFinds the mistakes that send a case back for a corrected affidavit while they are still a redline on the draft.
08Notice to the second signer
A credit-report notice drafted for the relative who signs the I-864A
How it works
- The current edition carries a credit-report release above each signature
- When the sister joins on her own contract, a notice to her is drafted
- It sets out her promise of support and the credit check in plain words
- It goes out only once the paralegal approves and sends it
Paralegal leadMakes sure the relative hears about the credit check from the firm before she signs, in words she can follow.
09Sign-off and audit
Approval and signature by two people, with an audit line per step
How it works
- The paralegal lead approves the calculation and the supervising attorney signs
- The person who prepares a calculation cannot sign it
- On record: the guideline table, household 6, $55,450 needed, $64,440 counted
- The package holds 2 affidavits, 1 I-864A and 14 exhibits
Supervising attorneySigns with each figure traced to its record line and each step on file, so the affidavit is ready the same day it is weighed.

What one draft got wrong: a mother, a wage line, two digits, an edition

What the draft said, against what the records say.

A dependent the draft left out

The return lists the sponsor’s mother as dependent 2. With her the household is 5 and the bar is $48,350, so his $45,240 falls $3,110 short.

Wages where total income belongs

The draft gave $41,880 of W-2 wages as last year’s income. The transcript’s total income line reads $44,918, with $3,038 of weekend delivery work in it.

Two digits swapped

Current income on the draft was $45,420. The employer letter and all 12 stubs say $45,240: $21.75 an hour, 40 hours, 52 weeks.

An edition no longer accepted

The draft sat on the superseded edition. The form checker re-drafts it on the current one, which adds the credit-report release above each signature.

Four routes past a $3,110 shortfall, and what each costs the office

The ranking for this sponsor, cheapest first. The paralegal lead chose the first.

Route	Closes	Where it leaves the sponsor	What it takes
The sister’s I-864A	$3,110 of $3,110	Over by $8,990; household of 6 needs $55,450	1 contract, 3 documents, about 40 minutes
Assets ÷ 3	$2,750 of $3,110	Still short $360	12 months of statements, about 25 minutes
Joint sponsor	$3,110 of $3,110	Qualifies alone, over by $23,450	A second full I-864, 8 documents, 2–3 weeks
A raise due next year	$0 of $3,110	Future income does not count	Not a lawful route today

Around the affidavit

The source line, the second signer and the raise that cannot count

Beside the balance: a citation opened, the household member’s pay, the finished check and the settings.

Tax transcript shown after a tap on a household citation, its second dependent line highlighted and matched to the sponsor’s mother from the intake — **The line that changed the household**Tapping the household citation opens the tax transcript at its dependents, where dependent 2 is matched to the sponsor’s mother from the intake.

Note explaining that a raise starting in January is not current income and would still leave the sponsor $302 short of $48,350 — **Why next year’s raise stays off**$23.10 an hour would give $48,048, still $302 short of $48,350, and income not yet earned is not current income.

Sponsorship balance tipped over by $8,990: a household of 6 needs $55,450, and $64,440 is counted with the sister’s income on an I-864A — **The balance with the sister’s income**A household of 6 needs $55,450. $45,240 plus $19,200 makes $64,440, over by $8,990. Both pans re-weigh as people and income are added.

Income screen for the household member: transcript with $18,760 total income, current income of $19,200 from letter and stubs, address matched to the lease — **The sister’s income, read and matched**Her letter and 12 stubs agree at $19,200, and her address matches the lease. Her last tax year totals $18,760 because she now works fewer hours.

Field check all clear, 8 of 8: the form on the current edition, each corrected field showing the draft value struck through — **Eight of eight before sign-off**Each fixed field shows the draft struck through beside the record: household 4 to 6, income $45,420 to $45,240, total $41,880 to $44,918.

Settings: the 125% guideline table for households of 2 to 8, the asset multipliers, the form edition, and which role prepares and which signs — **The firm’s own rulebook**The guideline table by household size, the asset multipliers, the one edition accepted, and roles that keep preparer and signer apart.

Choosing the route and signing the affidavit stay with the firm

Agents read, count and weigh. People decide what the affidavit says.

Choosing how to close a gapThe gap closer ranks the routes and shows what each closes. The paralegal lead picks one, and her name is recorded with the choice.

Counting money not yet earnedA raise that has not started, or an intending immigrant’s income from abroad, is never put on the balance.

Changing who is in the householdNobody is dropped without the paralegal, and a relative counts only with proof of the same address.

Sending or filing anythingAgents never message the sponsor or a household member, and never upload the package. Each message waits for the paralegal.

Affidavit of support questions: household size, assets, joint sponsors

What is I-864 affidavit of support review?

I-864 affidavit of support review checks that a sponsor truly meets the income requirement before the form is signed. This solution builds the household from the latest tax return, reads income from the transcripts, stubs and employer letter, weighs both against the guideline, ranks the lawful ways to close any gap and checks the form field by field.

Who counts in the household size on an I-864?

The sponsor, a spouse, unmarried children under twenty-one living with him, each dependent on the latest return, each intending immigrant, people sponsored before whose obligation is still running, and a relative at the same address whose income is used on an I-864A.

Can assets make up an income shortfall?

Yes. Assets that count are divided by three for a spouse or adult child of a citizen, by five for others, and by one for an orphan to be adopted. A vehicle counts only if it is not the household’s only car.

When is a joint sponsor needed instead of an I-864A?

When no relative at the same address, and no dependent, has income to add, or the one who does cannot sign. A joint sponsor files a separate affidavit, must qualify alone for his own household plus the immigrants, and takes on a binding obligation from outside the home.

Which guideline table and form edition does it apply?

It applies the table in force on the signing date, by region and active-duty status, and stamps it on each calculation. New tables are proposed by the guideline agent and approved by the managing attorney. As for the form, the check holds the draft to the only edition now accepted.

How are the sponsor’s records protected?

ID numbers come out masked, each signer hears about the credit-report release before signing, and each read and change is audited. A sponsor’s tax papers are held in the firm’s workspace, and none of them feed model training.

Family & Humanitarian Immigration