USCIS Officers Required to Remind Sponsors of Affidavits of Support of Their Financial Obligations to Support Intending Immigrants

On June 14, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the implementation of the “Presidential Memorandum on Enforcing the Legal Responsibilities of Sponsors of Aliens,” issued May 23, 2019. USCIS officers will now be required to remind individuals at their adjustment of status interviews of their sponsors’ responsibilities.

More specifically:

• Officers must remind applicants and sponsors that the Affidavit of Support is a legal and enforceable contract between the sponsor and the federal government, and that the sponsor must be willing and able to financially support the intending immigrant.
• If the sponsored immigrant receives any federal means-tested public benefits, the sponsor “will be expected to reimburse the benefits-granting agency for every dollar of benefits received by the immigrant,” USCIS said.

Related Links:

• USCIS Announcement
• Presidential Memorandum