HHS 2019 Update of Poverty Guidelines

Health and Human Services published the annual update of the poverty guidelines on February 1, although these guidelines have been in effect since January 11. The guidelines are commonly known as 'the poverty line,' and are used by many programs to set eligibility criteria. These numbers are used in the field of immigration to determine the minimum income needed to sponsor some employment-based immigrants and most family-based immigrants. This is required so that the government can ensure that immigrants have adequate financial support and will not rely on the U.S. government for financial aid. Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support, is used to demonstrate adequate financial support.

The new guidelines account for last calendar year's inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index. However, the poverty thresholds have not increased or decreased significantly.

For More Information:

Read the official notice on the federal register here.

Read the filing checklist for Form I-864 here.

This blog post does not serve as legal advice and does not establish any client-attorney privilege. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our legal team directly.

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This information comes from a news release from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA Doc. No. 19020107).