Letter of support for a green card
If you searched “affidavit of support,” you may be looking for Form I-864, the financial sponsorship contract. This page is for the other letter: friends and family describing a real marriage.
Which letter do you need?
I-864 is signed by a financial sponsor who agrees to support the immigrant. A relationship letter of support is signed by a friend or relative who saw the marriage in daily life. Mixing those jobs is how people file the wrong document.
Use this tool when a friend can describe dinners, moves, holidays, or children they personally observed. Use I-864 software or an attorney when you need the sponsor contract.
Side by side
- Form I-864: sponsor income, household size, legal contract. We do not prepare it.
- Letter of support for a green card: a friend or relative describing a bona fide marriage for I-751 or I-130.
- I-130 cover letter: written by the petitioner, not by friends.
Search data from CitizenPath shows people mix affidavit of support with friend letters. If you need the financial form, stop here and use the USCIS I-864 instructions. If you need friends to describe the marriage, stay and draft.
Questions
What is an immigration letter of support?
In marriage cases it is usually a friend or relative describing a genuine relationship. It is not the I-864 financial form.
I searched affidavit of support. Is this I-864?
No. Form I-864 is a financial sponsorship contract. This page drafts third-party relationship letters for I-751 or I-130 only.
When do I need both letters?
Many marriage filings use I-864 for money and separate friend letters for the relationship. We only draft the relationship letters.