State Dept. Establishes Fee for I-864 Affidavit of Support Form

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Affidavits of Support

STATE DEPT. ESTABLISHES FEE FOR I-864 AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT FORM
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 14, No. 6, October 19, 2000

The U.S. Dept. of State has published a final rule in the Federal Register that establishes a fee of $50 to cover the costs of processing the new, enforceable affidavit of support, Form I-864. The new fee, which took effect on Oct. 1, 2000, will be charged in addition to the fees already established for applying for an immigrant visa. The fee applies only to visa processing and will not be charged to persons applying for adjustment of status.

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 business.

Under the rule, a separate fee must be paid for each "distinct" Form I-864 that is submitted in a case. By contrast, no additional fee will be assessed when "essentially duplicative" I-864 forms are submitted by the same sponsor on behalf of beneficiaries of separate petitions. "For example," the rule explains, in the case of "parents of a U.S. citizen for whom separate petitions must be filed" the sponsor need not pay the $50 processing fee twice. No fee will be charged for the I-864a form that is submitted by a cosponsor. However, a separate fee will be charged for each different I-864 form submitted in a case by a primary sponsor or joint sponsor.

In issuing the rule, the State Dept. rejected a proposal that the agency wait until after visa processing service improves to impose the fee. The agency noted that it "has already undertaken to improve service to applicants" and that collection of the fee will enable the agency to expand this effort. Specifically, the affidavit of support review program, which was established by the National Visa Center in 1998 as a pilot project for immigrants applying at three consular posts (Ciudad Juarez, Manila, and Santo Domingo), has recently been expanded. The program now reviews all I-864 forms submitted for immigrants who are processed at ten posts, which together account for approximately forty percent of the worldwide immigrant visa caseload. Those posts are Manila, Ciudad Juárez, Santo Domingo, Guangzhou, Bogotá, Port au Prince, Georgetown, Freetown, Tirana, and Montreal. The State Dept. plans eventually to expand the review program to include review of all I-864 forms before they are sent to overseas posts.

65 Fed. Reg. 54,148-50 (Sept. 7, 2000).