Immigration Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support) and Efforts to Collect Damages as Support Obligations Against Divorced Spouses — What Practitioners Need to Know

Abstract

Imagine a spouse who can sue his or her former spouse for support every year until either dies. Imagine the suing spouse bringing an action in state court and, if unhappy with the outcome, moving to federal court for a new law suit for support, and then going back to state court to sue, yet again, for the following year’s support. An impossible scenario? Not any longer.

The I-864, affidavit of support, is a little-known form (outside of immigration law) that has become pertinent in family law and federal court litigation.

Keywords: Immigration, affidavit of support, litigation, federal courts