- USCIS issued Form I-864 edition 08/24/26, effective August 31, 2026, with no grace period for older versions.
- The updated affidavit lets USCIS and the Department of State request a sponsor’s credit report and score from consumer reporting agencies.
- Sponsors should check for a credit freeze before filing, since blocked access may delay review of financial sufficiency.
USCIS updated Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA, and the new edition lets the agency and the Department of State seek a sponsor’s credit report and score from consumer reporting agencies. The authority took effect August 31, 2026.
The revised form carries the edition date 08/24/26. Its authorization covers information from “one or more consumer reporting agencies” while the government reviews a sponsor’s financial sufficiency.
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A frozen file could slow that review. The form does not name a bureau or establish a public credit-score cutoff.
The change affects sponsors in family-based immigrant cases and other cases requiring an affidavit of support. Adjustment-of-status sponsors are included.
The filing transition is immediate. The agency will reject the prior 10/17/24 edition when a sponsor postmarks it or submits it electronically on or after August 31, 2026. There is no grace period.
Sponsors must use the new edition and review any freeze before filing
Sponsors preparing the affidavit now face two separate checks: selecting the accepted version and confirming that their consumer files can be accessed if requested.
- Use the 08/24/26 edition for a filing postmarked or submitted electronically on or after August 31, 2026.
- Check with the major consumer reporting agencies for a credit freeze or security freeze.
- Temporarily lift a freeze if access is needed before filing.
- Respond quickly if the agency asks for the freeze to be released during review.
A blocked file can interrupt the financial assessment. It may therefore add time to a case, although lifting a freeze does not guarantee approval or a particular processing timeline.
The revised document includes a privacy authorization for requests to consumer reporting agencies. That language gives the government a stated route to obtain consumer-report information rather than relying only on records attached by the sponsor.
The authorization also names the Department of State. The same affidavit can support immigrant visa cases handled through consular processing and adjustment-of-status filings made in the United States.
The authorization reaches broadly, but the scoring rules remain undefined
The wording does not limit requests to a named credit bureau. It instead permits information from “one or more consumer reporting agencies.”
The government has not announced a minimum credit score, a denial threshold or a specific bureau requirement. It also has not publicly explained which credit factors it will weigh.
That leaves the known change focused on access to information. The published material describes credit data as part of the review of whether the sponsor can meet the support obligation.
A low score alone is not publicly established as an automatic bar to sponsorship. The form authorizes a request, but it does not state that any particular score produces a denial.
The practical questions remain open. They include how a report may be considered alongside income, assets and other evidence submitted with the affidavit.
The affidavit still turns on financial sufficiency
The affidavit remains the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA. Sponsors use it in many family-based immigration cases, and the financial undertaking remains central to the filing.
Sponsors must show sufficient income or assets under the applicable poverty-guideline framework. The new authorization adds a possible source of financial information to that review.
Household members are not the main target of this specific revision. The sponsor’s own financial file is directly implicated because the sponsor assumes the support obligation.
As of August 2026, the affidavit itself carries no agency filing fee. Other charges may apply elsewhere in an immigration case, but the form has no filing fee listed in the cited guidance.
Immigration lawyers are warning sponsors about blocked access
Immigration attorneys have urged sponsors with frozen files to address the issue before submitting the affidavit. Their concern is that a freeze can prevent access to information the revised authorization permits the government to request.
JQK Immigration said the new document contains a privacy release for consumer-report requests. The firm warned that sponsors may need to lift freezes to avoid delays.
Immigration attorney Luis Eduardo Victoria said the revision allows requests for consumer-report information when authorities evaluate sponsorship sufficiency. His comments also described no publicly announced minimum credit-score requirement.
The change has prompted questions about how consumer reports could affect sponsorship decisions. Those questions include which factors may be reviewed and how the information will fit with income, assets and other evidence.
The affidavit remains part of a larger eligibility review. A credit inquiry does not replace the sponsor’s obligation to document the financial support required under immigration law.
The revised edition was published and became effective on August 31, 2026. That date controls whether a submission uses the accepted version or the rejected 10/17/24 edition, with no transition period between them.
