Filing in 2026? Check your form edition first
On August 31, 2026, USCIS published a new edition of Form I-864 — edition 08/24/26 — with no grace period. The older 10/17/24 edition is no longer processed or accepted if it is postmarked or electronically submitted on or after that date, and Forms I-864EZ and I-864A changed to the same edition. The income thresholds below did not change, so the calculator above is current; only the paperwork is new. See what changed in the 08/24/26 edition, including the new consumer-credit authorization.
What is the I-864 income requirement?
When you sponsor a family member for a green card, you must file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, and prove that your income is at least 125% of the HHS Poverty Guidelines for your household size. The official numbers are published by USCIS on Form I-864P and update every year — the tables on this page took effect on March 1, 2026. This free I-864 income calculator applies those exact figures, including the separate tables for Alaska and Hawaii and the 100% rule for active-duty military sponsors, so you can find out in seconds whether you meet the affidavit of support income requirements for 2026.
Getting this number right matters more than almost anything else in a family-based green card case. If the National Visa Center or USCIS decides your income is insufficient, your case can be delayed by months or refused until you add a joint sponsor, household member income, or assets. Unlike a generic poverty-guidelines chart, this sponsor income calculator walks you through the two things people most often get wrong: counting household size correctly and knowing which percentage applies to your situation.
How the calculator works
First, the household size wizard counts everyone USCIS requires: you, your spouse, your unmarried children under 21, anyone you claim as a tax dependent, every immigrant you are sponsoring on this affidavit, and anyone you sponsored on a previous I-864 whose obligation is still in force. Second, it selects the right table — the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, or Hawaii — because the income thresholds in Alaska and Hawaii are significantly higher. Third, it applies 125% of the poverty guidelines for regular sponsors or 100% if you are an active-duty service member petitioning for your spouse or child. Finally, it compares the requirement against your current annual income and gives you a different answer depending on where you land: a clear pass, a narrow pass with the evidence points that matter at that margin, or — if you fall short — the exact size of the gap and the four routes that close it.
2026 I-864 income requirements (effective March 1, 2026)
| Household size | 48 states (125%) | Alaska (125%) | Hawaii (125%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $27,050 | $33,813 | $31,113 |
| 3 | $34,150 | $42,688 | $39,275 |
| 4 | $41,250 | $51,563 | $47,438 |
| 5 | $48,350 | $60,438 | $55,600 |
| 6 | $55,450 | $69,313 | $63,763 |
| 7 | $62,550 | $78,188 | $71,925 |
| 8 | $69,650 | $87,063 | $80,088 |
| Each additional | +$7,100 | +$8,875 | +$8,163 |
Active-duty military sponsors petitioning for a spouse or child use the lower 100% column of Form I-864P: for a household of 2 in the contiguous states that is $21,640 instead of $27,050. Need the full official tables? See the complete I-864P poverty guidelines 2026 chart, or check exactly how much income you need to sponsor a spouse, parents, or multiple relatives.
If your income falls short: the four routes
Falling short of the I-864 income requirement is common, and it is usually solvable without a lawyer. There are exactly four routes, and they are not equally good — one costs nothing and resolves a surprising number of cases, another needs assets most sponsors do not have. Work through them in this order.
Route 1 — Recheck your household size before anything else
An overcounted household is the most common self-inflicted reason a sponsor appears to fail. Every additional person raises your threshold by $7,100 in the 48 contiguous states, so one miscounted dependent can manufacture a shortfall that does not actually exist.
Count: yourself; your spouse; your unmarried children under 21; anyone you claim as a dependent on your most recent federal tax return; every immigrant you are sponsoring on this affidavit; and anyone you sponsored on a previous I-864 whose obligation has not yet ended.
Do not count: a relative who will immigrate more than six months from now — they are added later, on their own affidavit; a person you have already counted in another category, since a dependent child is counted once and not twice; or a household member who is neither your dependent nor being sponsored.
Before you look at assets or start asking relatives to co-sign, recount. It is free and it takes two minutes. How to count household size →
Route 2 — Find a joint sponsor
The most common solution, and the most misunderstood. The critical point: a joint sponsor must qualify entirely on their own. They are not topping up your difference. If you are $5,000 short, a joint sponsor earning $5,000 does not help you — they must independently meet 125% of the poverty guidelines for their own household size plus the immigrant they are sponsoring. Once a joint sponsor is used, your own income stops being the deciding number.
A joint sponsor must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or lawful permanent resident, at least 18 years old, and domiciled in the United States. They do not have to be related to you — a friend or colleague can serve. They file their own complete Form I-864 with their own tax documents, and they accept the same legal obligation you would have: it survives divorce, and it ends only when the immigrant naturalizes, earns 40 qualifying quarters of Social Security work credit, permanently departs the United States, or dies.
Two joint sponsors are permitted per family unit, and each immigrant may have only one. Joint sponsor rules in full →
Route 3 — Cover the gap with assets
Assets can substitute for income, but at a multiple — and the multiple is the part sponsors miss. In the general case you need assets worth five times your shortfall. If you are a U.S. citizen sponsoring your spouse or your child, the multiplier drops to three times. On a $6,000 shortfall that is the difference between needing $30,000 and needing $18,000, so establishing which multiplier applies to you is the first thing to settle.
The test is not value alone. The asset must be convertible to cash within one year without hardship to whoever owns it. Savings accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks and bonds satisfy that readily. Real-estate equity counts, but only the equity — evidenced with a recent appraisal and current mortgage statements — and equity in the home you live in is harder to argue as convertible without hardship. Retirement accounts carrying withdrawal penalties are frequently challenged. Assets belonging to the immigrant themselves may also be counted.
Route 4 — Add a household member's income with Form I-864A
Someone already in your household can add their income to yours by signing Form I-864A, a contract that makes them jointly and severally liable for the support obligation. Unlike a joint sponsor, their income is combined with yours — so they only need to close the gap, not clear the entire requirement alone. For a sponsor who is a few thousand dollars short with a working spouse at home, this is usually the cleanest route of the four.
The signer must be at least 18 and either living in your residence, or someone you claim as a dependent on your federal tax return. Because a household member is already included in your household size, adding their income does not raise your threshold.
Already holding a Request for Evidence about your income? See how to respond to an insufficient-income RFE, and what income counts if you are unsure which earnings you may include.
If you pass narrowly: evidencing income at a small margin
A narrow pass is still a pass. But at a small margin, how you evidence the number matters as much as the number itself, because there is no cushion to absorb a reviewer reading one figure differently than you did. Four situations account for most of the trouble.
Salaried, same job all year. The simplest position. Use your current annual salary and include recent pay stubs alongside your tax return, so a reviewer can see the figure is current rather than historical.
Self-employed. The figure that counts is the total income line on your return after business deductions, not your gross receipts. Sponsors who deduct aggressively often discover their qualifying income is far below what their business actually takes in. If your Schedule C shows a loss, your qualifying income may be near zero even in a good year.
New job, or income changed this year. You may use your anticipated current-year income even where it exceeds your last tax return — provided you can document it. A job offer letter stating your salary, plus recent pay stubs, is what carries that argument. Current income vs tax return →
Filed a joint return. You will need to separate out your individual income and be ready to evidence which portion is yours, typically with your own W-2s. The income figure you report from the return must match the return as filed, not your carved-out share — mismatches between the two are a common reason packages come back.
If you pass clearly: three mistakes that still cause RFEs
Clearing the threshold comfortably removes the hardest problem, but it does not make the affidavit automatic. Three mechanical errors account for a large share of Requests for Evidence issued to sponsors whose income was never in doubt.
- The figure taken from your tax return must match the return as filed. Not your share of a joint return, and not a corrected or rounded version — the number as it appears on the return you actually submitted.
- "Current annual income" is not last year's number. It is what you individually expect to earn this year. It can legitimately be higher than your last return if you can evidence it, and reporting last year's figure out of caution can understate you into an unnecessary shortfall.
- Send the W-2s as well as the return. A tax return without its W-2s is incomplete. The exception is an IRS tax transcript, which stands on its own and is generally the cleaner document to file.
I-864 guides
Plain-English guides to the parts of the Affidavit of Support that trip people up most:
- New I-864 edition 08/24/26 — what changed on August 31, 2026, and why there’s no grace period.
- How much income to sponsor — exact 2026 dollar figures for a spouse, parents, or multiple relatives.
- What income counts — wages, self-employment, Social Security, unemployment, and what's excluded.
- Current income vs. tax return — which figure actually qualifies you, and how to prove a raise.
- Insufficient-income RFE — what a Request for Evidence means and the four ways to fix it.
- Using assets — the 5× and 3× rules for covering a shortfall with savings or property.
- Joint sponsor — who can be one and the income they must independently meet.
- Counting household size — exactly who to include (and who not to).
- Documents checklist — everything to attach to the affidavit.
- I-864 vs I-864A vs I-864EZ — which version of the form you file.
- I-864P 2026 chart — the full official poverty-guidelines tables.
Frequently asked questions
How much income do I need for Form I-864 in 2026?
For most sponsors, your income must be at least 125% of the HHS Poverty Guidelines for your household size. Under the guidelines effective March 1, 2026, that is $27,050 per year for a household of 2 in the 48 contiguous states, plus $7,100 for each additional person. Alaska and Hawaii have higher thresholds. Sponsors on active duty in the U.S. armed forces petitioning for a spouse or child only need 100%.
What happens if my income does not meet the I-864 requirement?
You have four routes: recheck your household size (overcounting is the most common self-inflicted failure), count significant assets (generally worth 5 times the shortfall, or 3 times when a U.S. citizen sponsors a spouse or child), add the income of household members using Form I-864A, or find a joint sponsor who independently meets the full 125% requirement for their own household size plus the immigrant.
How do I count my household size for Form I-864?
Count yourself, your spouse, your dependent children under 21, anyone you claim as a dependent on your tax return, the immigrant(s) you are sponsoring on this affidavit, and anyone you previously sponsored on an I-864 whose obligation is still in effect. Use our household size wizard in the calculator above to get this right.
Does a joint sponsor need to meet the full income requirement?
Yes. A joint sponsor cannot combine income with the primary sponsor. They must independently meet 125% of the poverty guidelines for their own household size plus the sponsored immigrant(s).
What counts as income for the I-864?
USCIS looks at your current individual annual income, which usually matches the total income line on your most recent federal tax return, plus documentable current income such as a recent job offer or pay increase. Income of household members can be added with Form I-864A.
Can I use assets instead of income for the Affidavit of Support?
Yes. If your income falls short, assets such as savings, stocks, bonds, and real estate equity can make up the difference. Generally assets must equal 5 times the gap between your income and the requirement. If a U.S. citizen is sponsoring a spouse or child over 18, only 3 times the gap is required.
Are the income requirements higher in Alaska and Hawaii?
Yes. Alaska and Hawaii have separate, higher poverty guideline tables. For a household of 2 in 2026, the 125% threshold is $33,813 in Alaska and $31,113 in Hawaii, compared with $27,050 in the 48 contiguous states.
When do the I-864 poverty guidelines update?
HHS publishes new poverty guidelines each year, and USCIS updates Form I-864P — typically effective March 1. The figures on this page are the guidelines effective March 1, 2026, taken directly from uscis.gov.
Do military sponsors have a lower income requirement?
Yes. Sponsors on active duty in the U.S. armed forces who are petitioning for their spouse or child only need to meet 100% of the poverty guidelines instead of 125%.
How much income do I need to sponsor my spouse for a green card?
For a sponsor with no other dependents, sponsoring a spouse means a household size of 2, which requires $27,050 per year under the 2026 guidelines (48 contiguous states). See our full guide on how much income you need to sponsor a spouse, parents, or multiple family members.
Where can I find the official I-864P poverty guidelines chart for 2026?
USCIS publishes the guidelines on Form I-864P at uscis.gov, effective March 1, 2026. We maintain a complete, easy-to-read copy of the I-864P 2026 chart — all household sizes, both the 100% and 125% columns, for the 48 states, Alaska, and Hawaii.
I qualify, but only just. Does that cause problems?
A narrow pass is still a pass, but at a small margin how you evidence your income matters as much as the number. Self-employed sponsors are judged on the total income line after business deductions, not gross receipts. If your income rose this year you may use your anticipated current income, provided you can document it with pay stubs or a job letter. If you filed jointly you will need to separate out your individual income.
Is this calculator official legal advice?
No. This is a free informational tool based on the official USCIS Form I-864P tables. It does not constitute legal advice. For complex situations, consult a licensed immigration attorney.
Which edition of Form I-864 do I file in 2026?
The 08/24/26 edition. USCIS published it on Aug. 31, 2026 with no grace period, and will not process or accept the older 10/17/24 edition if it is postmarked or electronically submitted on or after that date. Forms I-864EZ and I-864A are also now the 08/24/26 edition. The income requirements did not change — those come from Form I-864P and remain the figures effective March 1, 2026.
Does USCIS check a sponsor’s credit for the I-864?
The 08/24/26 edition of Form I-864 includes a privacy release that authorizes USCIS to request information from one or more consumer reporting agencies. USCIS has not published a credit-score requirement, and the income test is unchanged. Its stated concern is access: if a sponsor has a credit or security freeze on their file, USCIS may not be able to obtain the information it needs, so sponsors should respond promptly to any request to lift a freeze.