I-864 Poverty Guidelines: Income, Assets, and Joint Sponsors

To sponsor an immigrant on Form I-864, your income generally must reach 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size. For a household of two in the 48 contiguous states, that figure is $27,050 per year as of March 1, 2026.¹ The threshold rises with each additional person in your household, and if your income falls short you can supplement it with assets, a qualifying household member’s income, or a joint sponsor. The I-864 poverty guidelines are the numbers that decide whether your affidavit will be accepted, and they come from a table USCIS publishes on Form I-864P.²

2026 Income Minimums for the 48 Contiguous States

The amounts below are the 125-percent figures already calculated for you. They apply to sponsors in the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and they took effect March 1, 2026.¹

Household of 2: $27,050
Household of 3: $34,150
Household of 4: $41,250
Household of 5: $48,350
Household of 6: $55,450
Household of 7: $62,550
Household of 8: $69,650
Each additional person: add $7,100

The guidelines in effect on the date you sign and file the affidavit are the ones that apply to your case.³ HHS updates the numbers each year, and filing with an outdated figure is a common reason for a request for evidence or a denial. Check the current I-864P page before you submit.

Alaska and Hawaii Are Different

Alaska and Hawaii have their own tables because the cost of living is higher. Alaska’s 125-percent threshold for a household of two is roughly $33,813, and Hawaii’s is higher still. The structure is the same, with a set dollar amount added per additional person. Using the wrong geographic table causes an immediate rejection, so confirm which table applies before you calculate.¹

The Military Exception

If you are on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and you are petitioning for your spouse or minor child, your threshold is 100 percent of the poverty guidelines rather than 125 percent.⁴ The reduced threshold does not apply to joint sponsors or substitute sponsors, even when the petitioning sponsor is military.

Counting Your Household Size

Which row of the table applies depends on your household size, and most sponsors undercount. Start with two: you and the immigrant you’re sponsoring. Then add every dependent from your most recent federal tax return, whether or not they live with you. Add any other family members immigrating on the same petition.

One item is easy to miss. If you previously signed an I-864 for someone else and that obligation is still active, that person counts in your current household size. The earlier obligation stays in force until the previously sponsored immigrant naturalizes, earns 40 qualifying quarters of work, dies, or permanently leaves the United States.⁵ Miss one person and your income can look sufficient when it actually isn’t.

What Income Counts and What to Document

USCIS uses the “Total Income” line on your most recent Form 1040. If you filed a 1040-EZ, it uses the adjusted gross income line instead.⁴ Wages, self-employment earnings, Social Security benefits, and other recurring income feed into that total. Unemployment benefits and child support can count if they are documented and likely to continue.

You must submit either an IRS tax transcript or a full photocopy of your federal return for the most recent tax year. Returns from up to three years back can be included if they help show stable or rising income. Attach all W-2s and 1099s. Any mismatch between what the I-864 reports and what the return shows will slow the case or trigger a request for evidence.

USCIS also weighs whether your income is likely to continue. Recent pay stubs, an employer verification letter, or a current employment contract help establish that your earnings aren’t a one-time spike. Meeting the threshold through steady current income is the cleanest path.

Using Assets to Close a Gap

When income alone falls short, you can add the net value of assets that could reasonably be converted to cash within a year. The multiplier depends on who you are sponsoring.⁶

If you are sponsoring the spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, the net asset value must be at least three times the income gap.
For any other sponsored immigrant, the net asset value must be at least five times the gap.

Qualifying assets include savings accounts, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, and home equity. For real estate, equity means fair market value minus any outstanding mortgage or lien. USCIS expects a professional appraisal from within the past year for real property, plus a recent mortgage statement and property tax records. Bank statements do the same job for liquid accounts. Informal estimates or tax assessments alone rarely meet the evidentiary standard.

A quick example. If the threshold for your household size is $41,250 and your income is $31,250, the gap is $10,000. Sponsoring your spouse means you need at least $30,000 in qualifying assets. For any other family-based immigrant, you need $50,000.

Household Member Income and Joint Sponsors

Two other paths can close a gap: adding a household member’s income, or bringing in a joint sponsor. You can combine methods; there is no ranking.⁴

A household member who lives at your principal residence and is a qualifying relative (spouse, parent, adult child, or sibling) can pool their income with yours by signing Form I-864A. A person you claimed as a dependent on your tax return can also sign, even if they live elsewhere.⁷ Signing I-864A creates a binding contract in which the household member is jointly responsible for supporting the immigrant. The intending immigrant’s own income can also count if it will continue from the same source after immigration and the immigrant currently lives with you, or if the immigrant is your spouse regardless of where they live.

A joint sponsor is a separate person who files their own Form I-864 and takes on the full obligation independently. The joint sponsor need not be related to you or the immigrant, but must be a U.S. citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident, at least 18 years old, and domiciled in the United States. Their income must independently meet 125 percent of the poverty guidelines for their own household size, plus the immigrant and any accompanying family members.⁸ A household member who signs I-864A and a joint sponsor can both be held legally liable if the sponsored immigrant later receives means-tested public benefits.

How Long the Obligation Lasts

The I-864 is not a temporary promise. It binds the sponsor until one of the following happens:⁴

The sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen.
The sponsored immigrant is credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work, roughly 10 years. Quarters earned by a spouse during the marriage, or by a parent while the immigrant was under 18, can count toward the total.
The sponsored immigrant dies.
The sponsored immigrant permanently leaves the United States and ceases to be a lawful permanent resident.
The sponsor dies, though the sponsor’s estate remains liable for any reimbursement obligation that accrued before death.

Divorce Does Not End It

Divorce is not on that list, and this is where the affidavit surprises sponsors most. USCIS states directly that the obligation continues, and federal courts have treated the I-864 as a contract with the government in which the immigrant is a third-party beneficiary. A state-court divorce decree, a prenuptial agreement, or a property settlement cannot waive the immigrant’s rights under the affidavit.⁵ If the former spouse’s income drops below 125 percent of the poverty guidelines after the divorce, the sponsor is still contractually on the hook to make up the difference.

Enforcement and Means-Tested Benefits

The point of the affidavit is to keep the immigrant off government assistance. If the sponsored immigrant receives means-tested public benefits, the agency that paid can seek reimbursement from the sponsor, and the immigrant can bring a civil action in federal or state court to enforce support directly. Programs treated as means-tested for I-864 purposes include SNAP, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.¹

Government agencies rarely pursue reimbursement in practice. The more common enforcement scenario is a suit by the sponsored immigrant after a divorce, and courts have regularly awarded ongoing support at the 125-percent level, sometimes with back payments for earlier shortfalls. The poverty guideline figure isn’t only what qualifies you to sponsor; it can also become the number a court orders you to pay.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864P, HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1183a – Requirements for Sponsors Affidavit of Support
3
U.S. Department of State. I-864 Affidavit of Support FAQs
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affidavit of Support
6
U.S. Department of State. I-864 Affidavit of Support FAQs
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member Form I-864A
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA