Don’t be a Victim of Immigration Fraud as an I-864 Sponsor

You probably found this page because you are a U.S. citizen who married an immigrant. You petitioned for the immigrant to come to the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident. You agreed to support the immigrant financially. You paid the filing costs and attorney fees for the immigrant to come to the USA. The immigrant is your spouse or you agreed to help out a relative or friend as a co-sponsor.

The immigrant is now a U.S. Permanent Resident and is suing you for support based on the I-864 Contract that you signed agreeing to support him or her.

The I-864 Contract is between the sponsor(s) and the U.S. Government. The immigrant is a third -party beneficiary with standing to enforce the contract.

There are five events that terminate the Contract. Four of the terminating events are pretty clear. However, there are defenses to the enforcement of the I-864 Affidavit of Support other than the terminating events. There may be defenses that totally terminate your obligation and there may be defenses that limit your obligation. Whether you have any defenses depends on your personal situation and that of the beneficiary who is suing you.

A lawsuit based on the I-864 contract can be filed in State Court pursuant to divorce or b in Federal Court by filing a Complaint for breach of Contract, The lawsuit whether in state or Federal Court is more about contract law than it is about immigration law. It is of utmost importance, if you are threatened with a lawsuit based on the I-864 contract, that you seek out an attorney like Kyndra L Mulder, Esquire from Mulder Law who has over 37 years experience and is knowlegable with practical experience in contract law and immigration law.

The I-864 Contract is based on federal statute found in the Immigration and Nationality Act. .State courts have no authority to alter the terms of the contract. Federal courts may interpret the federal stuatute to determine whether your defenses apply.

This specific area of the INA has very little litigation history. This is good for the defendant because it leaves many arguments open to interpretation based on a determination of the intent of congress when they wrote the statute. Secondly, jurisdictions have varied in their interpretation of the statute. One jurisdiction does not need to adopt the opinion of another.

Attorney Mulder has more than 37 years of experience. The I-864 Affidavit of Support is an area that she focuses on. There are very few attorneys in the U.S. with knowledge and experience in this area.

Before agreeing to represent you in litigation, Attorney Mulder will conduct a thorough review of your situation to determine your defenses. She will let you know whether you have defenses to enforcement. It is rare that a sponsor has no defenses to enforcement.

What you should Know before you Sign the I-864; Affidavit of Support.r potential liability.

Most immigration attorneys know that the I-864 is a form that must be signed with supporting documents pursuant to a marriage or family adjustment.

Kyndra L Mulder, Esquire, is one of few attorneys in the United States that has knowledge and experience in representation and litigation in the enforcement of the I-864.

The best defense to I-864 enforcement is to be proactive in compliance with the terms and termination of the contract as soon as possible. This can be achieved by consulting with Kyndra L Mulder, Esquire, before you sign the I-864 Affidavit of Support.

The Rights of the Beneficiary

The Immigrant Beneficiary has a right to be supported by the sponsor at 125% of the poverty level as established by the SSA on an annual basis. The sponsor’s obligation to support the immigrant does not end until or unless one of the following terminating events occurs:

• The sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, or

• The sponsored immigrant can be credited with or aquires 40 qualifying quarters of work in the United States, or

• The sponsored immigrant dies,

• The sponsored immigrant ceases to be a lawful permanent resident AND permanently departs the United States, or

• The sponsored immigrant is newly sponsored by a new petitioner.

  The sponsored immigrant is entitled to support minus any offset of funds and in some case liquad assets that the immigrant has or has aquired. Possible offset can be support that the beneficiary has available does not need, or that the sponsor or other sources have provided.

• The court will require the immigrant to prove that s/he is entitled to support from the sponsor. The immigrant is not automatically entitled to support.

I-864 BREACH OF CONTRACT

LITIGATION IN FEDERAL COURT.

Introduction

A lawsuit in Federal Court for  Breach of Contract is filed by the immigrant you sponsored to come to the United States and become a permanent resident.

The complaint must allege  that the I-864 Affidavit of Support - that is a contract between the defendant and the U.S. Government - has been breached. Specifically, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant has failed to support the plaintiff at 125% of the federal poverty guideline. Even though the plaintiff is not a party to the contract s/he has standing to sue to enforce the contract. This is just one of the unique elements of this contract as compared to the usual contract.

There may be a co-sponsor or joint sponsor who has signed an affidavit of support on behalf of the plaintiff. The co sponsor or joint sponsor is equally liable under the contract. The Plaintiff has the option to sue both the initial sponsor and the joint sponsor or sue only one of the two parties. Where the plaintiff elects to only sue one of the sponsors, that sponsor can join the second sponsor into the lawsuit as a third-party defendant or sue the second sponsor for contribution if any damages are awarded.

The Initial Complaint must allege and request damages.. Damages can be a lump sum of money for past breach of contract and/or monthly support to be paid indefinitely until one of the five terminating events occurs and the contract terminates by operation of law.

Defendant files an answer to the complaint. The answer must include any affirmative defenses or they will be waived. Other defenses should be included as well. Other allegations not clearly true should be denied until proven true.

Clearly, litigation can get complicated. Above is just a rough outline of the beginning. Read on for more detail and call or send an email to Kyndra L Mulder, Esquire regarding your personal situation.

Attorney Mulder works in two phases. In the first phase Attorney Mulder will review your case, determine all defenses and offset, respond to any demand letter received, and take any other necessary action. The majority of cases are resolved at this phase. Federal litigation is not only complicated,, it is expensive. The immigrant and his or her attorney will think twice about suing you when they are made aware of the fact that you will not pay them a lump sum of money and monthly support without defending yourself.