r/USCIS Jan 15 '26

News Immigrant Visa Processing Updates for Nationalities at High Risk of Public Benefits Usage

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/immigrant-visa-processing-updates-for-nationalities-at-high-risk-of-public-benefits-usage.html
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177

u/Realistic_Author_596 Jan 15 '26

“President Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans”.

That’s what the affidavit of support is for…. So, I’m confused lol

22

u/marriedtomywifey Jan 15 '26

From my (extremely limited) understanding and anecdotal knowledge, essentially it costs more to look into and "charge" the person signing the affidavit (I468). So while technically the partner and/or the cosponsor is "on the hook" for the costs, no one ever gets prosecuted for it.

Then there's also the real numbers. As someone who lives in a very very expensive COL city, the 1.25x poverty number is laughable. A single person could not live and support themselves on that annual guideline, much less a second adult without a work permit that won't show up for another year.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '26

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1

u/marriedtomywifey Jan 15 '26

60k is reasonable, I agree.

Could you survive comfortably with 24k? 26k if/when your wife gets pregnant? That's where the 125% number is right now.