How can I prepare financial records for an immigration support-affidavit review?
Keep the relevant person's role, income records, tax periods, assets or other requested evidence clearly labeled under the current official instructions. A support affidavit is not interchangeable with a fee-waiver request. This guide organizes records without determining a sponsor's eligibility, household size, required income or the sufficiency of an asset.
Sources: I-864: Affidavit of Support · Policy Manual: evidence · Checked October 25, 2026
What this guide covers
- Identify each person's proposed role
- Separate historical tax records from current facts
- Keep assets and obligations identifiable
At a glance
- Identify each person's proposed role before proceeding with this task.
- Separate historical tax records from current facts and preserve the source record.
- Use the current official instructions and keep a dated record of the actual result.
Identify each person's proposed role
Record who is providing financial information and which affidavit or request is under review, without assuming roles from family relationships alone. Keep the petitioner, intending immigrant and any other proposed participant distinguishable in the private file. This page does not decide who must sign or whether another person can satisfy the applicable legal requirement.
Separate historical tax records from current facts
Label each document with the named person, source and period it describes. A prior annual record and a current earnings statement can answer different questions. Preserve changes in employment or circumstances rather than editing a number to make documents agree, and ask what the current official instructions require for the actual review.
Keep assets and obligations identifiable
Where the applicable instructions call for asset or other evidence, record the owner, document source, valuation date and any stated limitation without inferring legal acceptability. Do not treat a balance, property listing or family promise as automatically sufficient. Financial and ownership questions may need individual professional analysis beyond an organizing worksheet.
Distinguish a support affidavit from other financial tasks
A fee-waiver packet, school funding evidence and an immigration support affidavit have different purposes and requirements. Do not recycle a document set on the assumption that every institution defines household or resources the same way. Keep the requesting authority and actual instruction visible beside each evidence group.
Preserve privacy and the final reviewed version
Use an appropriate secure route for tax and financial documents and keep unnecessary account identifiers out of public questions. Retain the final materials and any later request for clarification. The publication's free index supports preparation but does not apply a poverty guideline, guarantee approval or decide an ongoing financial obligation.
| Review step | Record or question | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Identify each person's proposed role | Record who is providing financial information and which affidavit or request is under review, without assuming roles from family relationships alone. | Check against the actual official instruction or document |
| Separate historical tax records from current facts | Label each document with the named person, source and period it describes. | Check against the actual official instruction or document |
| Keep assets and obligations identifiable | Where the applicable instructions call for asset or other evidence, record the owner, document source, valuation date and any stated limitation without inferring legal acceptability. | Check against the actual official instruction or document |
| Distinguish a support affidavit from other financial tasks | A fee-waiver packet, school funding evidence and an immigration support affidavit have different purposes and requirements. | Check against the actual official instruction or document |
Prepare your next questions
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Version: October 25, 2026.
Go to the source
Sources & verification
Follow the institution that owns the requirement and check its current instructions.
Common questions
Is an affidavit-of-support packet the same as fee-waiver evidence?
No. They serve different purposes and need their own current official instructions. Do not assume the same household or financial rules apply.
Sources: I-864: Affidavit of Support · Policy Manual: evidence · Editorial policy and verification status
Can an older tax record be treated as current income automatically?
Keep the period and source clear. Historical and current records can describe different facts; this worksheet does not decide which figures satisfy the applicable requirement.
Sources: I-864: Affidavit of Support · Policy Manual: evidence · Editorial policy and verification status
Does a listed asset automatically make a sponsor eligible?
No eligibility conclusion is provided. Ownership, value and any relevant limitations need review under the actual current rules and individual record.
Sources: I-864: Affidavit of Support · Policy Manual: evidence · Editorial policy and verification status
How should sensitive tax or bank records be shared?
Use the appropriate secure agency or professional channel. General questions can identify the issue without publishing full financial statements or account numbers.
Sources: I-864: Affidavit of Support · Policy Manual: evidence · Editorial policy and verification status
About this guide
By Immigrant Insider editorial desk. Updated .
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