"Ability to Support" for Young Couples

Miri was trying to figure out how to apply for a green card for her fiancé, Etienne, who was from France. The introduction was made while he was in graduate school on a student visa, and now that they were married, he would be able to procure a more long-term immigration status in the U.S. From her online research, she saw that immigration lawyers recommended submitting 3 years of tax returns to show her financial stability. She called me fretting, “I just finished college. I’m only 23 – how am I supposed to have 3 years of tax returns?!”

When an international couple gets married and decides to live in the U.S., the U.S. citizen spouse can petition for a green card for the foreign spouse. What’s colloquially referred to as the “green card” is a document that demonstrates a person has Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) status in the U.S. Becoming an LPR is important when someone plans to stay in the U.S. long term. This status provides work authorization, allowing the immigration spouse to work legally. It also allows the person to travel freely in and out of the U.S., perhaps to visit his family back in his home country, or go on a honeymoon.

Without legal status, once a person departs from the U.S., they will not be eligible to get back in. If a foreign spouse has a family event or a sick relative back home, he will have to make an impossible choice as to whether to leave and risk not being able to return, or stay and miss important family gatherings and milestones.

To complete the marriage-based green card application, the couple needs to show they have a legitimate relationship, and not one for the purposes of gaining immigration status in the U.S. They have to submit documents showing that they share a residence, share finances, and share their lives and leisure time together.

One of the mandatory parts of the application is demonstrating that the U.S. citizen spouse can financially support the immigrant spouse. The citizen must show that the immigrant will not become a “public charge” by relying on government financial assistance.

To demonstrate their ability to support, the spouse must meet a minimum income requirement, which is usually 125% of the federal poverty level, which depends on their household size and their location. Typically, a couple will include in their application documents such as copies of the U.S. spouse’s federal income tax returns from the past three years, and pay stubs from the last 3 months.

So what can a couple do when they are young, newly married, and perhaps not working or started a job only recently? Immigration authorities want to know whether the U.S. spouse has a financial record strong enough to be the sole financial sponsor of their case.

If the petitioning spouse’s income is insufficient, one option is for a joint sponsor to also complete an “Ability to Support” document on the applicant's behalf. The joint sponsor can be the petitioner parent, but does not actually have to be related to either spouse – the person must only show that they have the requisite household income.

If a spouse does not have the usual 3 years of tax documents, they should submit whatever tax returns they have, whether it is 1 or 2 years. If they do not have tax returns at all yet, their financial story can be told in other ways. They can include paycheck stubs, letters from employers, and bank statements to paint a broader picture of their financial situation.

Additionally, income is not the sole indicator of financial stability – you want to demonstrate not just earnings, but a solid foundation as well as earnings potential. For many young couples, other assets like real estate or investments can show a couple’s financial strength, even if those assets were gifted to them. You can add assets like savings and checking accounts, stocks, or bonds.

Importantly, immigration authorities accept familial support as a factor when judging a couple’s financial situation. If a newly married couple is being helped by parents to pay for their expenses, this support will be an important piece of their application too.

I assured Miri that she needn’t worry about her tax returns. We gathered as much evidence of her earnings as we could, and then moved on to other potential contributions to their household. Etienne owed a small rental property with his brother, so we included evidence of this asset. Miri’s parents were helping them with rent and some other expenses, so we spoke to them about becoming joint sponsors on the application. We painted a picture of financial stability that gained them an approved petition and a green card!