If you sponsor an immigrant, be prepared to hand over your credit report and tax returns

American citizens, U.S. nationals and lawful permanent residents who sponsor an immigrant visa for a family member to live permanently in the United States must sign a legal and enforceable contract with the federal government know as the Affidavit of Support, agreeing to use their financial resources to support the immigrant.

Last year, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that revives an old self-sufficiency immigration law that requires sponsors of immigrants to reimburse the U.S. government for any federal means-tested public benefits the sponsored immigrant receives.

And now, the Department of Homeland Security has announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that aims to “hold immigrant sponsors accountable for failing to meet the obligations of contracts they sign with the federal government.”

The proposed rule would require those who sponsor a green card for an immigrant to provide — along with the affidavit form — credit reports and credit scores, certified copies of income tax returns for the last three years, and bank account information, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said on Thursday.

By providing these financial records, should the proposal be approved after a period for comments, the petitioners would “effectively demonstrate they can maintain the required income” to sponsor a family member and in some cases an employee, said the immigration agency in a news release.

Drastic immigration and citizenship fee hikes were supposed to start Friday. They won’t.

USCIS makes harder the process to sponsor an immigrant

The DHS agency said the proposal seeks to align its policy with the Memorandum on Enforcing the Legal Responsibilities of Sponsors of Aliens, signed by President Trump in May 2019.

Joseph Edlow, USCIS deputy director for policy said in a statement that his department “will continue to advance the president’s directive to properly enforce immigration laws and ensure the federal government is reimbursed should sponsored aliens receive public benefits.”

The national policy that requires the sponsor of an immigrant to reimburse any entity that provides welfare benefits dates back to Bill Clinton’s presidency. However, according to a fact sheet released by the White House last year, “rampant welfare abuse by non-citizens is straining the social safety net.”

Under the proposed regulation, if immigration authorities determine that the petitioner who filed an immigrant petition on behalf of the intending immigrant has received means-tested public benefits within the last 36 months before filing the affidavit — or has not reimbursed the government for the aid received by another immigrant he or she sponsored — then the petitioner would be required to be backed by a joint sponsor, USCIS explained.

The U.S. is once again giving away 55,000 green cards to foreigners. It’s simple and free.

Which immigrants could be affected by the new Trump administration proposal

The regulation applies to all relatives of American citizens (U.S.-born or naturalized immigrants) and lawful permanent residents, who can obtain a green card or adjust their status through the petition of a relative.

Among them:

▪ Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens such as parents, spouses, and unmarried children under the age of 21.

▪ Relatives who qualify for immigration to the U.S. under one of the family-based preferences:

▪ First Preference: Unmarried, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.

▪ Second Preference: Spouses of permanent residents and the unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents and their unmarried children.

▪ Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, their spouses and their unmarried minor children.

▪ Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens, their spouses and their unmarried minor children.

“The Affidavit of Support process is required for most family-based immigrants and some employment-based intending immigrants to show that they have adequate means of financial support and are not likely to become a public charge,” USCIS said in the news release.

Some of the public benefit programs mentioned in Trump’s memorandum are:

▪ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, popularly known as food stamps).

▪ Medicaid.

▪ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF).

Green cards are only available to immigrants who fall under one of these categories

Civil action against defaulting sponsors

According to the DHS notice, other proposed changes on the Affidavit of Support requirements are:

▪ Eliminating the subpoena requirement before USCIS can provide certain information to benefit-granting agencies and other parties authorized to pursue civil action against defaulting sponsors.

▪ Limiting the type/number of household members who can file a Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member.

▪ Eliminating the use and consideration of the Request for Exemption for Intending Immigrant’s Affidavit of Support.

In recent weeks, USCIS launched an initiative called “Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE)“ that will provide information about immigrants’ sponsors to agencies that administer public benefits.

“If a sponsored alien receives a means-tested public benefit, the sponsor is responsible, upon request, for reimbursing the agency providing the benefit. An agency can seek a court order for repayment if a sponsor does not issue reimbursement,” USCIS said last month.

The Trump administration has made several changes in immigration policy to curb legal immigration of low-income foreign nationals. Among these were a massive increase in immigration and naturalization application’s fees, a rule that was temporarily halted by a federal court.

You can read this story in Spanish in el Nuevo Herald.

Daniel Shoer Roth is a journalist covering immigration law who does not offer legal advice or individual assistance to applicants. Follow him on Twitter @DanielShoerRoth or Instagram. The contents of this story do not constitute legal advice.