Immigrant Sponsorship

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Immigrant Sponsorship USCIS

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Sponsorship is tricky term, much like green cards which are no longer green. Immigrant sponsorship is often used to refer to the process an immigrant must go through to come to the United States. While most immigrants have to have someone petition on their behalf, sponsorship only actually refers to the relationship between a family member petitioning on behalf of their spouse, child or parent.

Typically people immigrate to the United States if they have a family member or a job in the country, though there is a lottery (or diversity) immigrant visa program that admits up to 55,000 people a year without the need to show a family or employment connection. Therefore, the norm is that people who petition on an immigrant’s behalf are relatives or employers, according to Rosanne Zaidenweber, an immigration lawyer of 25 years in St. Paul, MN.

The process for admission by petition is in two stages. First, the petition made by a family sponsor or employer must be approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For those seeking admission through sponsorship, the U.S. citizen spouse, parent, or child formally petitions the USCIS on behalf of the immigrant for admission into the country. For employers, their company must first go through the process of recruiting for the job within the United States. They can only petition on behalf of an immigrant if they declare that there are no qualified U.S. citizens available to take the job, a process monitored by the Department of Labor. It is extremely difficult for immigrants to fake either type of relationship, according to Zaidenweber. Family members are required to prove by birth certificate their relationships and employers must ensure the job will be held for the specific immigrant throughout the process.

Once the petition is approved, the proposed entrant must then meet all of the required criteria for an admissible immigrant in the second stage of the process. Of these requirements, the pertinent rule for sponsorship is that the immigrant cannot become a public charge upon arrival.

On a basic level, sponsorship is a contract made between an immigrant’s sponsor and the United States government that guarantees the immigrant will not be a financial burden on the government, society and American taxpayers. With exceptions for refugees, asylum-seekers and diversity lottery winners, immigrants are required to prove they will not depend on welfare or other federal means of support after they enter the country. The most direct way for an immigrant to demonstrate such financial stability is to have their U.S. citizen relative or lawful permanent resident relative petition on their behalf. An employer does not have to go through the process of sponsorship; they must ensure the job they held for the immigrant is still there as well as guarantee that the immigrant will be paid the prevailing wage, ensuring their financial stability in that way, said Zaidenweber.

By filing an affidavit of support, the family member sponsor contractually commits to financially supporting the immigrant if the need arises (for example, paying for unexpected hospital fees in the case of an accident). For the sponsorship to be approved by USCIS, the sponsor must demonstrate that they have an income of least 125 percent of the federal poverty level. This ensures that sponsors are able to support themselves and their family in addition to the immigrant.

After filing the form, the sponsor and immigrant then wait for USCIS to notify them whether the petition was approved or denied. If approved, the immigrant still has to apply for and secure an immigrant visa. Obtaining final approval and the visa is often complicated and takes time, but sponsorship is a crucial step in that direction. If the petition for sponsorship is denied, there is an appeals process.

For more information on supporting an immigrant, the Illinois Legal Aid website provides a concise overview of sponsorship and related immigration questions. Visit the USCIS website for more information on the different classifications of immigrants and sponsorship forms at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis.