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The Many Faces of Stern Elkind Curray & Alterman LLP

Since 1985,Stern Elkind Curray & Alterman has limited its practice to immigration law, with a special emphasis on matters relating to the employment of foreign professionals. Mr. Stern and Ms. Elkind founded the firm with the goal of providing the very best immigration advice and representation to our clients. As the firm has grown, we have continued our commitment to maintaining a high level of expertise combined with an understanding that our clients are individuals whose lives are deeply affected by the work we do. Over the years, we have developed expertise and wide-ranging experience in all facets of immigration law.

We continue to be deeply affected by our clients, some of whom are introduced within this web site.

New Affidavit of Support Guidelines

July 07, 2006

New guidance was issued on June 21, 2006 concerning final rules regarding I-864 Affidavit of Support. The rules go into effect July 21, 2006. Among the changes, the following are included:

An Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) must be sufficient both at the time the adjustment application is filed and the time that it is approved. Please note that if it is sufficient at the time it is filed, it will be presumed to be sufficient at the time of adjudication.
Unless more than one year has elapsed since the Form I-864 was submitted, and there is a specific reason to question whether the evidence of income is no longer reliable, the USCIS should not request further documentation of the sponsor's income or assets. The only exceptions are if a most recent tax return does not show a sufficient level of income or if more than one year has passed and the facts supported by evidence on the records provide a specific reason to believe that the sponsor's income is no longer sufficient.
There is a new EZ Form for filing (Form I-864EZ). This is a short form for sponsors who are relying on their own income to meet the support requirements.
Only the most recent year's tax return must be submitted with an I-864.
The final rule eliminates the requirement that sponsors submit pay stubs covering the most recent six months and an employer letter as initial evidence. Each of these may be used to prove a sponsor's ability to provide support but they are not required.
The requirement that a sponsored immigrant live with the sponsor for six months before his or her income can be considered has been eliminated. Rather, the sponsored immigrant must show merely that his or her income was derived legally, and that there is a reasonable expectation that the ability to provide this income will continue.
You may not use funds that were obtained through unlawful employment for purposes of I-864.
A copy of Form I-864P (the minimum poverty guideline requirements) should be included in each filing.

This should not affect cases that are currently pending with our office, as our internal procedures typically ensure that affidavits of support are sufficient at the time of filing.

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