Key Takeaways
- Divorce does not end a sponsor’s I-864 obligation. It ends only on specific events, such as the immigrant’s naturalization, 40 qualifying quarters of work, or the death of the immigrant or the sponsor.
- A sponsored immigrant can enforce the I-864 in the California divorce case and has no duty to look for work to reduce what the sponsor owes.
- The sponsor owes only the shortfall. Income the immigrant actually receives counts toward the 125 percent floor.
- For 2026, the floor for one person in California is $19,950 a year, or $1,662.50 a month.
When a U.S. citizen or permanent resident sponsors a spouse for a green card, the sponsor signs Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support. Many sponsors treat it as one more page in an immigration packet. It is a binding contract, and it does not end when the marriage does.
In a California divorce, the I-864 creates a federal support obligation that is separate from California spousal support and can outlast it. Whether you signed the affidavit or are the spouse it protects, it belongs on the table from the start of the case.
What the I-864 Requires
By signing Form I-864, the sponsor agrees to provide any support necessary to maintain the sponsored immigrant at an income of at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the immigrant’s household size, for as long as the obligation lasts. (8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(1)(A); Form I-864.) The form uses a lower 100 percent figure for certain active-duty military sponsors of a spouse or child.
The affidavit is a contract with the federal government that the sponsored immigrant can enforce in state or federal court. (*In re Marriage of Kumar* (2017) 13 Cal.App.5th 1072, 1075; 8 U.S.C. § 1183a(e).) Its purpose is to keep the immigrant from becoming a public charge, and courts read it with that purpose in mind. (Kumar, supra, 13 Cal.App.5th at p. 1075.)
Divorce Does Not End the I-864 Obligation
The obligation ends only when the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, has worked or can be credited with 40 qualifying quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act, loses permanent resident status and leaves the United States, obtains a new grant of adjustment of status as relief in removal proceedings, or dies. It also ends if the sponsor dies, although the form warns that the sponsor’s estate may still owe support that accrued before the death. (8 C.F.R. § 213a.2(e)(2); Form I-864.) Divorce is not on the list, and the form tells sponsors directly that divorce does not end the obligation.
If a joint sponsor also signed an I-864 for the immigrant, the joint sponsor has a separate obligation, and the divorce does not end it either.
The 40 Quarters Are Not a Simple Ten-Year Clock
The 40-quarter rule is often described as about ten years of work, but the count follows Social Security rules. A quarter does not count if the immigrant received a federal means-tested public benefit during it. (8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(3)(A).) Quarters a spouse worked during the marriage can be credited to the immigrant only while the two remain married or if the spouse has died. (8 U.S.C. § 1183a(a)(3)(B).) After a divorce, the sponsor’s own work history generally stops counting toward the immigrant’s 40 quarters. Check the Social Security earnings record before assuming the obligation has run out.
A Prenuptial Agreement or Divorce Judgment Does Not End It Either
In Erler v. Erler, the spouses’ premarital agreement and their California divorce judgment both provided that neither would receive support from the other. The Ninth Circuit held that neither one ended the husband’s I-864 obligation, because the federal right of support exists apart from whatever rights the immigrant has under state divorce law. (*Erler v. Erler* (9th Cir. 2016) 824 F.3d 1173, 1177.)
A prenuptial agreement can still control many other issues in a divorce. A general waiver of California spousal support, however, should not be read as a waiver of the separate federal I-864 obligation.
Enforcing the I-864 in Your California Divorce
A sponsored spouse does not need a separate federal lawsuit. In Kumar, the Court of Appeal held that a sponsored immigrant has standing to enforce the I-864 in state court and that the court handling the dissolution can decide the claim. (Kumar, supra, 13 Cal.App.5th 1072.) The claim can be raised by a request for order in the family law case, as it was in the 2025 Adeyeye case discussed below.
Kumar also held that a sponsored immigrant has no duty to mitigate damages by looking for work. A sponsor cannot shrink the obligation by arguing that the immigrant should have found a job. (Kumar, supra, 13 Cal.App.5th 1072.)
The remedies include an order for specific performance and payment of legal fees and other costs of collection. (8 U.S.C. § 1183a(c).) A sponsor who ignores the obligation can end up paying for the enforcement effort as well as the support.
How Much Does the Sponsor Owe?
A One-Person Household When One Immigrant Leaves
When a single sponsored immigrant leaves the sponsor’s household, the Ninth Circuit measures the obligation by a one-person household and disregards the income of anyone else the immigrant lives with, such as an adult child. If the sponsor sponsored several immigrants who leave together and continue to live together, the household size counts all of them. (Erler, supra, 824 F.3d 1173.) The court left open how a remarriage would affect the analysis.
The Sponsor Owes Only the Shortfall
In In re Marriage of Adeyeye & Faramaye, which the Court of Appeal described as a question of first impression in California, the trial court ordered the husband to pay the full 125 percent figure, $1,569 a month, without considering the wife’s earnings. The Court of Appeal reversed. Because the affidavit requires “any support necessary” to reach the floor, the sponsor owes the difference, if any, between the immigrant’s income and 125 percent of the poverty guidelines. (*In re Marriage of Adeyeye & Faramaye* (2025) 112 Cal.App.5th 119.)
For 2026, the federal poverty guideline for one person in the 48 contiguous states, including California, is $15,960. At 125 percent, the floor is $19,950 a year, or $1,662.50 a month. (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, 2026 Poverty Guidelines.) In a hypothetical case in which $12,000 of the immigrant’s income counts, the shortfall would be $7,950 for the year. The guidelines change every year, so the figure must be recalculated for each period at issue.
What counts as income is not fully settled. Adeyeye noted that courts have treated public benefits, assets, and earning capacity differently, and it left those questions to the trial court. (Adeyeye, supra, 112 Cal.App.5th 119.) Read together, Kumar and Adeyeye mean that income the immigrant actually receives reduces the obligation, while the immigrant has no duty to seek work to reduce it further.
The I-864 and California Spousal Support
The I-864 is a separate federal obligation, not a form of California spousal support. (Kumar, supra, 13 Cal.App.5th 1072; Erler, supra, 824 F.3d at p. 1177.) The two work differently. California spousal support depends on the circumstances of the marriage, can be modest or short-lived after a brief marriage, and can be waived in a valid agreement. The I-864 floor does not depend on the length of the marriage, and a state-law waiver does not end it.
That is why the I-864 matters most after short marriages. A sponsor who expects support to end after a year or two may find that the I-864 continues until the immigrant naturalizes or is credited with 40 quarters. A sponsored spouse who receives little or no spousal support may still have a federal floor to enforce. Either way, both sides should be ready with evidence of the immigrant’s actual income and of any payments already made.
Records to Gather
- Sponsors: the signed I-864, immigration status records, proof of any terminating event such as naturalization, and evidence of the immigrant’s actual income.
- Sponsored spouses: the signed I-864, your income and financial records, and your Social Security earnings record.
- Both: the name of every person who signed an I-864 for the immigrant, including any joint sponsor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does divorce end an I-864 sponsor’s obligation?
No. The obligation ends only on events listed in the federal regulation, such as the immigrant’s naturalization, 40 qualifying quarters of work, loss of permanent residence followed by departure from the United States, or the death of the immigrant or the sponsor. (8 C.F.R. § 213a.2(e)(2).)
Can I enforce an I-864 in my California divorce case?
Yes. In In re Marriage of Kumar (2017) 13 Cal.App.5th 1072, the Court of Appeal held that a sponsored immigrant can enforce the I-864 in state court, and that the court handling the dissolution can decide the claim.
Do I have to look for a job to receive I-864 support?
No. Kumar held there is no duty to seek work to mitigate the claim. Under In re Marriage of Adeyeye & Faramaye (2025) 112 Cal.App.5th 119, however, income you actually receive reduces what the sponsor owes.
How much is I-864 support in 2026?
For one person in California, the 2026 floor is 125 percent of the $15,960 poverty guideline: $19,950 a year, or $1,662.50 a month, reduced by the immigrant’s own income. The one-person figure applies when a single sponsored immigrant has left the sponsor’s household.
Questions About an I-864 in Your Divorce?
Barsamyan Family Law APC is led by Vardui Rose Barsamyan, a Certified Family Law Specialist (State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization). To request a confidential consultation, call (424) 600-0019 or contact the firm.
Barsamyan Family Law APC litigates I-864 claims in Los Angeles and Orange County.
Related practice area: spousal support.
This article provides general information about California law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws, court rules, and forms change, and every case turns on its own facts.