‘Affidavit alone won’t cut it’: Brooklyn immigration lawyer warns of stricter Green Card rules

A Caribbean-born immigration attorney in Brooklyn has warned that an affidavit of support alone may be insufficient for Caribbean and other nationals applying for permanent residency in the United States.

“The landscape of family-based immigration is poised for meaningful change. Following the enactment of the ”One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) and the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) memorandum of Sept. 4, 2025, (legal) practitioners strongly anticipate heightened evidentiary scrutiny — even though many of these practices are not yet mandatory,” Roland G. Ottley, the founding attorney of The Ottley Law Firm, PC, on Winthrop Street in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, told Caribbean Life on Saturday, Oct. 11.  

“Families should understand that adjudications may soon place greater weight on comprehensive proof of self-sufficiency, and begin preparing accordingly,” urged the Vincentian native, who provides comprehensive immigration and legal services to individuals and families navigating complex federal requirements. “As of today, a properly completed Form I-864 Affidavit of Support may still be sufficient in some cases. However, based on OBBBA and the Sept. 4, 2025 USCIS guidance, we strongly suspect adjudications will soon require more comprehensive evidence of self-sufficiency.

“Prudent applicants and sponsors should proactively assemble broader documentation now, anticipating markedly higher evidentiary scrutiny in the near future,” Ottley added. “Ground your preparation in the totality-of-the-circumstances approach described in the USCIS Policy Manual and reinforced by the Sept. 4, 2025, memorandum: officers weigh age, health, family status, assets/resources/financial status, and education/skills together.

“Building a full, well-documented record now is a prudent best practice—not a new legal requirement,” he continued, stating that the Sept. 4 memorandum signals “a likely shift in the calculus of family sponsorship cases.”

Ottley said USCIS officers are expected to conduct “holistic reviews” of self-sufficiency determinations, ensuring that every question on Form I-485 receives complete attention and that all Congressionally-mandated factors undergo rigorous evaluation.

“While not yet an across-the-board mandatory standard, the guidance indicates where adjudications are heading,” Ottley said. “This development represents more than procedural refinement: it signals a philosophical reorientation in how evidence may be weighed.

“Where previously a properly completed I-864 might suffice to overcome concerns about financial self-sufficiency—and may still suffice in some approvals today — applicants should anticipate increased requests for comprehensive evidence addressing every statutory factor outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act,” Ottley said.

He said the implications extend “far beyond paperwork,” warning families not to assume that meeting only minimum requirements will guarantee success, as adjudication trends evolve.

“Emerging expectations point toward proactive evidence that demonstrates genuine self-sufficiency beyond mere compliance with baseline requirements,” the immigration attorney said. “Because of recent changes in immigration law, we will soon start seeing a more difficult course to achieve in terms of document requirements and face the burdens and stress of meeting deadlines or denials.

“By not including the Form I-944, applicants are unaware of the now stricter requirements for filing an adjustment of status application,” he added. “Before, you would have the I-944 Form, and you would scoff at its requirements before investing your time and effort for adjustment of status. You would be able to check your budget to see if you can afford to continue with the adjustment of status application.

“Now, if you file your application unaware of the above, you may find yourself in a tight squeeze where you only have 87 days to provide USCIS with a bulk of information,” Ottley warned. “That can result in a tremendous amount of anxiety and stress.”

He said once an application is submitted to USCIS for adjudication of adjustment of status, the adjudicating officer then has a flexible amount of discretion as to how restrictive they need to be and whether or not and what information they should request from the applicant and the petitioner.

Ottley said there are now many variables that an adjudicator would need to consider in assessing the totality of the circumstances test to determine whether the applicant is more likely to become dependent on the government for their subsistence.

“You will need to pre-assess your situation and provide strong evidence to the adjudicator that the applicant is likely to be self-sufficient,” he said. “The petitioner may need to establish that the petitioner has sufficient income, assets, and sufficient financial resources that the government can utilize to seek contribution from the petitioner for public benefits that the applicant may utilize in the future.”

Ottley said OBBBA is expected to reshape the economic assumptions behind sponsorship by narrowing access to certain federal benefits and elevating the expectation of private solutions — especially health coverage — “thereby amplifying how officers may weigh foreseeable costs and the applicant’s independent means.

“The USCIS memorandum, as guidance, emphasizes holistic review and full-factor analysis and signals that officers will corroborate claims with objective records and may draw adverse inferences from omissions or unexplained inconsistencies,” he said. “Depth and continuity of proof are strongly suspected to matter as much as nominal thresholds.”

For sponsors, Ottley said the I-864 Form “demonstrates a promise, not a guarantee,” noting that officers examine the sponsor’s actual tax compliance, liquidity, recurring obligations, household size integrity, and the credibility of any joint-sponsor arrangement.

“Unclear dependent claims or tenuous employment undercut the weight given to the affidavit,” he said.

For applicants, Ottley said evidence of real-world solvency — steady balances rather than one-time deposits, insurable risk through active private health coverage, documented skills that translate to employability, and responsible credit usage — carries “substantial persuasive value under the same statutory factors.”

He said the OBBBA and current USCIS guidance do not replace the public charge rule; instead, they intensify its practical application.

“The path forward is clear: align your packet with the statutory factors, prove continuity and credibility, and leave no material question unanswered,” Ottley said.

“The anticipated enforcement environment warrants a thoughtful shift in case preparation strategy,” he added. “Even before any change becomes mandatory, successful applications will benefit from comprehensive narratives of self-sufficiency that address likely concerns before USCIS officers raise them.”

Ottley said proactive documentation becomes the cornerstone of effective representation.

“Rather than responding to Requests for Evidence, practitioners should anticipate likely inquiries and provide thorough initial submissions,” he said. “This approach demonstrates preparedness while helping to frame the narrative from the outset.

“Given this new unknown immigration environment to the immigration community, we have to immediately start to educate applicants to assess their own individual situations along the lines of the new requirements, so that they can be part of the strategic approach to applying with a prepared level of anticipated success,” he added.

Ottley said that once an applicant and the petitioner intend to move forward with their adjustment of status application, they should start gathering all of the necessary information and preparing the documents to present a strong case of self-sufficiency.

“Without doing so before submission of the application, the applicant and the petitioner will find themselves scrambling after waiting for a decision from USCIS,” he said. It is presently unknown how adjudicators will flex their view on a flexible restrictive approach to assessment of adjustment of status applications.

“We will have to wait to see whether adjudicators allow applicants extensions of time to provide the necessary information and if they require establishing good cause before allowing an applicant and petitioner more time to provide the necessary requested documents,” he added, stating that the anticipated transformation of family-based immigration requirements represents “both challenge and opportunity.

“While the potential standards may demand greater preparation and documentation, they also provide clear pathways to success for families committed to demonstrating genuine self-sufficiency,” Ottley continued. “Meticulous documentation remains the foundation of successful applications. Every financial statement, employment letter, and insurance policy must tell a coherent story of economic stability and future prosperity.”

He said early preparation becomes essential, given the volume of required documentation.

“Families should begin gathering evidence months before filing, allowing time to address any weaknesses in their financial profile,” Ottley recommended.

With extensive experience in family-based immigration matters, Ottley said he guides clients through the evolving landscape of US immigration law with “strategic insight and compassionate advocacy.”