Generally, the following intending immigrants need an I-864 Affidavit of Support:

• Immediate relatives (spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, and parents)
• Family-based preference immigrants (siblings, unmarried and married children over the age of 21).
• Applicants for employment-based immigrant visas where a relative filed the immigrant visa petition or has a five percent or greater ownership interest in the business that filed the petition

The general instructions for filing the Affidavit form of Support are as follows:

• Form must be completed using all CAPITAL letters
• Each Affidavit must be properly signed. Stamped or typewritten signatures will not be accepted (if you are under 14 years of age, your parent or legal guardian may sign on your behalf).
• Please submit all required evidence or supporting documentation along with the form.
• Print out all form pages and stamp them together in the correct order
• If you need extra space to complete any item within this affidavit use a separate sheet of paper. Write down your name, page number, and Item Number to which your answer refers at the top of the page.
• On a separate sheet of paper write down your full name, your U.S. Social Security Number and the name of the form you are applying with

It is important to revise the application carefully before its submission and make sure all answers are correct and accurate. All incomplete and deceitful applications will be rejected.

Note:The USCIS will contact you, should any additional proof be deemed necessary.

No forms older than twelve (12) months will be accepted. However, once the form is submitted it will not expire.

Supporting documents older than twelve (12) months, may not be accepted. In this case, you will be required by the designated consular office to submit a recent version of the expired document.

Where the affidavit should be submitted will depend on the applicant’s current place of residence:

• All complete and correct forms, along with their supporting documents must be sent to the National Visa Centre (NVC).
• Applications sent from foreign countries are required to go through the USCIS before the NVC. Otherwise they will not be accepted and automatically discarded.