How Much Income Do You Need to Sponsor an Immigrant?

The income you need depends on one number: your household size — yourself, your own dependents, and everyone you're sponsoring. The table below shows the most common scenarios for a sponsor with no other dependents, living in the 48 contiguous states, under the guidelines effective March 1, 2026. Your situation differs? The free calculator handles any combination, plus Alaska/Hawaii rates and the military 100% rule.

2026 income needed by scenario

Add your own spouse, children under 21, and tax dependents to the household count — each additional person raises the requirement by $7,100.

The number nobody expects: your own family counts too

The table above assumes a sponsor with no other dependents. Most people do not read that line, and it is the reason the figure they had in mind turns out to be too low.

Your household is not just the people you are bringing over. It is you, your spouse, your unmarried children under 21, anyone on your tax return — and then the immigrants. A married sponsor with two children who sponsors one parent has a household of 5 and needs $48,350, not the $27,050 they may have read somewhere. That is the gap between a comfortable case and a shortfall, and it comes entirely from counting correctly. See how to count household size.

Two things that change the figure

Active-duty military. If you are on active duty in the U.S. armed forces and you are petitioning for your spouse or your child, you only have to meet 100% of the poverty guidelines rather than 125%. For a household of 2 that is $21,640 instead of $27,050; for a household of 4, $33,000 instead of $41,250. It does not apply to other relatives.

Where you live. Alaska and Hawaii have their own, higher tables. A household of 2 needs $27,050 in the 48 contiguous states, $33,813 in Alaska and $31,113 in Hawaii. Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands use the contiguous-states figures. The full tables are on the I-864P 2026 chart.

Which income figure USCIS actually reads

The test is your current individual annual income — what you, personally, expect to earn this year. Not household income, not your and your spouse's combined figure unless your spouse formally adds theirs, and not necessarily last year's number.

Your most recent federal tax return is the evidence, but it is not automatically the answer. Three situations trip people up:

• You got a raise or changed jobs. You may use your higher current income, provided you can document it — a job offer letter stating salary plus recent pay stubs is what carries that. Reporting last year's lower figure out of caution can put you into an unnecessary shortfall. See current income vs tax return.
• You are self-employed. What counts is the total income line after business deductions, not gross receipts. Sponsors who deduct aggressively often find their qualifying income is far below what the business takes in, and a Schedule C loss can wipe it out.
• You filed jointly. You will need to separate out your individual share and evidence it, usually with your own W-2s.

Not sure what to include — Social Security, unemployment, child support, rental income? See what income counts.

If you fall short

Falling short is common and usually solvable. There are four routes and they are not equally good:

1. Recheck your household size. Free, takes two minutes, and an overcounted household is the most common self-inflicted failure. Every extra person costs you $7,100.
2. Add a household member's income with Form I-864A. Someone already living with you, or claimed on your return, can combine their income with yours — so they only need to close the gap, not clear the whole threshold. Usually the cleanest fix when it is available.
3. Use assets. Generally five times the shortfall, or three times where a U.S. citizen sponsors a spouse or a child aged 18 or over.
4. Find a joint sponsor. They must meet the entire requirement independently, for their own household plus the immigrant — income is never pooled.

Already received a Request for Evidence? See how to respond to an insufficient-income RFE.

A note on timing

The I-864P figures are republished each year, normally taking effect around March 1. The figures on this page are those effective March 1, 2026. If your case straddles an update, the threshold that applies is the one in force when your affidavit is reviewed — not when you filled it in. If you are close to the line and filing near a changeover, build in some headroom.

Frequently asked questions