When to File the Affidavit of Support Form I-134 Instead of Form I-864
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires for you to submit a different affidavit of support form depending upon whether you have filed an immigrant visa application or a non-immigrant visa application.
“Immigrant and non-immigrant visa” means…
An immigrant visa is the visa issued to persons wishing to live permanently in the U.S. Generally, this category includes the U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident’s close family members such as spouse, children, parents, and sibling filed through a Petition for Alien Relative USCIS Form I-130.
A nonimmigrant visa is the visa issued to persons with a permanent residence outside the U.S. but who wishes to be in the U.S. on a temporary basis (i.e. Tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work, student, or fiancee visa). Generally, this category includes temporary visitors that must leave the United States after a specific time period or when certain conditions are met. For example: a fiancee visa (commonly referred to a K1 visa application) requires the arriving foreign fiancee and the American Petitioner to get married in a certain amount of time before the arriving fiancee’s visa expires.
When to file I-134 affidavit of support form versus affidavit of support form I-864?
Contrary to popular misconception, almost all family alien relative petitions (form I-130) will require you to file an Affidavit of Support form I-864 at one point or another in the process. If you are filing for a non-family member or when the applicant is intending on temporarily work, study, vacation, get medical treatment and the likes then a form I-134 must be filed. Also note that a fiancee visa application (I-129F Petition for Alien fiance) used to petition to bring your fiancee (K-1) and that person’s children to the U.S. for marriage to you or to bring your spouse and that person’s children (K-3 and K-4 visas, respectively) to the United States to complete processing for permanent resident status requires that the I-134 Affidavit of Support Form must be filed.
How can an experienced immigration lawyer help ensure that your petition is timely accepted and approved?
– Draft, prepare, and submit the application.
Depending upon the circumstances and your specific immigration category having an experienced immigration law attorney prepare and submit your immigration application ensures that the necessary documents are prepared without error and are timely submitted for an error free expedient processing and response time from the USCIS.
– All requests by USCIS are direct to the attorney.
Depending upon the need for clarification or submission of additional evidence to support the visa application, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) direct these responses directly. This ensures that the requests for additional documents and notices from USCIS are timely and accurately submitted and answered. Have an experienced immigration law attorney prepare and submit all your immigration papers in Springfield, VA minutes from Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, and the DMV area.
Links: U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-129F Form I-130 Form I-134 Form I-864