Form I-864 must be submitted by all applicants for family-based immigrant visas except those who are immigrating through "self-petitions," either as widows or widowers of U.S. citizens or as abused immigrants under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).  Form I-864 is also required of applicants for employment-based immigrant visas where a relative of the applicant owns at least a five percent interest in the employing company.

The proposed rule’s supplementary information explains that the fee has been calculated to recover State Dept. costs "related to assisting the sponsor or joint sponsor in completing the Affidavit of Support and in reviewing the documents for technical completeness."  According to the State Dept., these costs are not already recovered as part of the fees for immigrant visa application processing and issuance.

Under the proposed rule, where a sponsor files "essentially duplicative" affidavits for several members of a single family, only one fee will be charged.  However, a separate fee will be charged for each "distinct" affidavit that is filed in a case, whether by the primary sponsor or a joint sponsor.

The State Dept. requests comments regarding the proposed rule from any interested persons.  Comments must be received on or before Apr. 12, 2000.