The household size is essentially the number of persons for whom you are financially responsible. Some of these persons may not be residing with you. Make sure you do not count any person more than once, since in some cases the same person could fit into two categories. E.g., your spouse might also be a lawful permanent resident whom you have already sponsored using Form I-864.
The household size is calculated by including all of the below:
You need to include them even if you do not have legal custody of these children. However, you may exclude any unmarried children under the age of 21 years, if these children have reached majority under the law of their place of domicile and you do not claim them as dependents on your income tax returns.
A divorced parent’s dependent children are members of his/her household, even if they live part of the time with the former spouse. Even if only one of the parents may be legally entitled to claim the child as a dependent on tax returns, the child must be considered as part of both parents’ households for purposes of the Affidavit of Support, unless you can show that you no longer have a legal obligation to support the child.
The petitioner with limited financial resources can limit the number of sponsored immigrants listed on the affidavit of support to the number of people who actually intend to immigrate at that time, such as sponsor only the principal alien and not his/her spouse and eligible children. The principal applicant must be one of the sponsored immigrants, however. By limiting the number of sponsored individuals, the petitioner would reduce the household size and thereby face a lower minimum income requirement. The petitioner would still be able to file another affidavit of support on behalf of the principal applicant’s eligible dependents at a later date when the petitioner and the principal applicant have improved their financial situation. When the petitioner files a new affidavit of support for the remaining eligible family members, the principal applicant, and any of his/her family members who may have already immigrated, would be included in the household for that I-864.
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