Contractual Liability of US Citizens for Help of Immigrants They Sponsor

An interesting short article, The Affidavit of Support Creates a Legally Enforceable Contract by the Sponsored Foreign National: Efforts to Collect Damages as Assistance Obligations Against Divorced Spouses, inside the November/December, 2010 situation of your Federal Lawyer by John Pratt and Ira Kurzban, two Florida immigration attorneys, discusses the use and limitations of the affidavit of assistance (Form I-864) as a separate contractual basis for the liability of a U.S. citizen to support their sponsored immigrant, whether or not spouse or employee, on divorce, separation or termination of employment.

As Pratt and Kurzban point out, execution with the Form I-864 by a U.S. citizen sponsoring the immigration of a non-citizen into the United states of america creates a contract in between the sponsor along with the United states of america government for the advantage with the sponsored immigrant which is enforceable in any state or federal court to insure that the sponsor provides the sponsored immigrant with help find this essential to keep him or her at an revenue that's at the least 125 % on the federal poverty suggestions so long because the obligation lasts. The truth is, the contractual obligation is for a term which ends only within the occasion the sponsored immigrant is naturalized or credited with or earns 40 qualifying quarters of employment (as defined under Social Security Law), or on the death of either the sponsor or the sponsored immigrant or on the abandonment of permanent resident status by the immigrant.

The report explains that the contractual basis for support it discusses is legally separate and distinct from issues of spousal support or alimony even though amounts paid as spousal help may be applied towards satisfaction from the contractual obligation which I-864 creates.

The post discusses each federal and state court instances addressing the rights which the I-864 affidavit creates and probable defenses to the assertion of such rights too as the sponsored immigrant's probable suitable to recover attorney fees and expenses.

These are troubles which any U.S. citizen who's pondering of sponsoring a foreign national for immigration into the Usa should carefully think about ahead of signing Type I-864 and which any such sponsored immigrant, with all the assistance of their lawyer, should really not overlook if their relationship with their sponsor falls apart.