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Affavit of Support termination

Hello, here is my question:
A son is sponsoring his father through Affidavit of Support he signed during his father's greencard application process. The father's greencard was approved. They live together in the same household. However, the father got really sick in the last couple of months, and the son cannot afford to financially support his father anymore. Can he terminate the affidavit for lack of sufficient income? If yes, what happens to the father's immigration status when the affidavit is terminated?
Thank you.

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An affidavit of support is a

Submitted by Phil on 05/11/2009 - 22:21

An affidavit of support is a binding contract between the sponsor and the government and cannot be terminated.

The sponsor's liability for supporting the immigrant terminates under the following conditions:

  • The immigrant becomes a U.S. Citizen
  • The immigrant is credit with 40 quarters of earnings as defined by Social Security law
  • The immigrant dies
  • The immigrant loses or abandons LPR status and leaves the U.S.
  • The immigrant is ordered removed but readjusts status in immigration proceedings and submits a new Affidavit of Support

If the affidavit of support has not terminated on one of the grounds listed above then the sponsor is still legally obligated to support the father. However, this will only become an issue if the father received government assistance and then seeks to enforce the affidavit of support against the son.

Here is an article that discusses the affidavit of support in more detail.

Hope this helps. Best of luck.