Time running out to comment on the proposed I-864 document
This is probably to late to help, but the date by which comments must be in on the I-864 is Tuesday, February 17. You can get more detail on why it's important that you voice your objections by visiting the China Connection website.
The text of a proposed letter, drafted by Laura Cecere, is included below. Please consider making a version for yourself, and then print and sign 3 copies of it. The original to the Director must be submitted in triplicate. The letter must be post marked no later than February 17, 1998.
Director
Policy Directives and Instructions Branch
Immigration and Naturalization Service
425 I Street N.W., Room 5307
Washington, D.C. 20536Re: Comments on Interim Rule for Affidavits of Support on Behalf of
Immigrants, INS No. 1807-96 -- With special concern for Alien Adopted
Children.Dear Sir/Madam:
We/I are/am adoptive/adopting parents of an orphan child in China and are writing to comment on the interim rule concerning the new affidavit of support under section 213A of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and regarding proposed agreements I-864 and I-864a. We believe that these proposed regulations do not take into account the unique interests and experience of U.S. citizens adopting an alien orphan. This process duplicates other procedures and creates uncertainty in the foreign adoption process and serves no purpose for us since we become immediately financially responsible for our children once we adopt them, even without the I-864 agreement.
THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS ARE DUPLICATIVE. By the time that we arrive at the U.S. Consulate in China, we will already have had to prove our financial ability to raise our child at least three times: to the state-licensed social worker or agency that prepared our homestudy; to the INS which gave us pre-approval to bring our adopted child home; and, to the Chinese government which gave us permission to adopt our child. The proposed regulations create a fourth time that we must prove our financial situation, this time to a Consular Officer of the State Department. That Officer may contradict the INS determination, and we have no appeal or recourse. We urge you either to consolidate the procedures of the two federal agencies or to allow the Consular Officer to accept the determination of the INS as proof of our financial situation without requiring us to yet again produce all of our financial information.
THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS CREATE UNCERTAINTY IN THE PROCESS. The proposed regulations do not provide for a way to receive pre-approval of the I-864. Families must first travel abroad and adopt their child before they may discover if their I-864 and supporting documentation is acceptable or not. Unless the sponsor is a full-time, salaried employee with a W-2, the adopting parent is left to guess at what documentation to bring with them and whether or not it will be satisfactory to the Consular Officer. Faced with the possibility of guessing wrong and being stranded in China with a newly-adopted child, families in doubt of the correct documentation to bring may opt simply not to adopt abroad. We are afraid that this procedure may unnecessarily discourage some from adopting abroad.
WE ARE ALREADY FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ADOPTED CHILD. As soon as we adopt our child, we are already fully financially responsible for the care of our child. Putting us through the I-864 process will not make us any more liable than we already are by nature of the parent-child relationship. It simply presents an added burden and uncertainty in an already paper-work heavy and duplicative process. It is simply unnecessary in our case.
OTHER OBJECTIONS:
* We object to having to turn over copies of our tax returns and other private financial documentation. We are happy to produce any documentation for inspection that the government would like to see to substantiate our financial position, but we see no point for the INS to keep copies of it in its files indefinitely at the expense of our right to privacy and confidentiality in those documents.* We object to the provision in the I-864 agreement that we must allow the INS to routinely turn over copies of all of our financial information and documents to any federal, state, local or foreign law enforcement authority that it cares to, without a warrant, probable cause, or even so much as informing us. This is a serious breach of our constitutional rights, and the INS should not condition permission to bring our child home on our waiver of those rights.
* Married couples who adopt abroad should be allowed to jointly sponsor their newly-adopted child. As written, the proposed regulations force us to choose which parent will sponsor our child. The other may be a co-sponsor only if the first spouse is unable to meet the minimum income requirement. It is unfair to require us to choose between us; we enter this adoption as equal partners and parents, and we would like the right to sponsor and be liable for our child jointly.
* The proposed regulations require proof of current employment. There are many reasons why some adopting parents may not be employed at the time that they adopt, not the least of which is that many of us take time off between positions or on an unpaid leave in order to adopt. As long as we show sufficient income or assets to support our child, we should not be required to have to show current employment as well.
* We object to the requirement that we must disclose all means-tested public benefits that we may have received in recent years. This is highly personal information and has no bearing on whether or not we are financially capable now to parent a child. It is merely an invasion of privacy and should be stricken from the regulations.
* The time estimate of how long it will take us to read, study, understand and complete the I-864 and gather the documents required to accompany it is far too little. In order to responsibly complete this agreement, we must study all 10 pages of instructions, research the federal poverty guidelines, calculate the level applicable to us, and perhaps seek out other sponsors or household members to complete their own agreements. We may need to consult our tax preparer or accountant for assistance or advice in completing the I-864. We must also research all means-tested public benefits that any of us may have received, research all amounts received, by whom, and when, and prepare a report of this for the I-864. In addition, for each person whose income is included on the I-864, we must retrieve and photocopy their W-2's, their 1040's with all attachments, documentary proof of their U.S. citizenship, a recent pay stub or letter from each person's employer, a record of any liens or liabilities they may have, and proof of the fact that they resided with us for at least 6 months. We must also obtain signed I-864a's from them. If we rely on assets instead of earned income to prove our financial ability, we must round up our 1099's and obtain documents proving the value, location, and ownership of each asset. Finally, we may need to consult counsel to fully understand the legal significance of the terms in this agreement and our liabilities under it. It is inconceivable to us how this onerous, burdensome process could be estimated to take a mere 69 minutes, as estimated in the proposed regulations.
* Finally, we object to the vagueness in the proposed regulations. We are left to guess how to prove self-employment, how to break-out one spouse's income on a joint tax return if there are no W-2's and assets are held jointly, how to prove nontaxable income not reflected on the 1040, how to document the relationship between household members, and how to document the current value of our assets. If we guess wrongly about any of these, we may be denied the I-864 and a visa for our child. Yet, there is no way that we can get prior advice or approval before adopting. This is an untenable situation requiring us either to take a great risk or to abandon our dream to adopt abroad.
We believe that our adopted child should be naturalized immediately upon our adoption of her, since she is already eligible for immediate adoption when we return to the U.S. This would avoid the need for the I-864 and yet another procedure at the INS. Barring that, we believe that the I-864 should be waived for adopting parents that have already satisfied the INS of their financial capability. Alternatively, instead of making us produce our financial records all over again, our prior INS approval should serve as all the supporting documentation that the Consular Officer needs to allow us to execute the I-864 unless there is a significant change in financial situation. At a minimum, the INS should devise a pre-approval process for the I-864 agreement or allow us to submit it for pre-approval at the time of the I-600a in order to avoid the duplication and uncertainty of submitting it after we have already adopted. We realize that our children are only a small number of the many immigrants who come to the U.S. each year. But it would involve relatively minor changes in the proposed regulations to accommodate our needs in this process and to encourage foreign adoption. We appreciate your assistance.Sincerely,
(Both sign)
cc: Doris Meissner
Commissioner
Immigration and Naturalization Service
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. 20536Janet Reno
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
Constitution Avenue and Tenth Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530
