IM-36 April 22, 2010; IM-103 October 4, 2004; IM-56 April 18, 2003
Deem a portion of the sponsor and sponsor’s spouse’s income to the sponsored immigrant who is not exempt from deeming. Count the spouse’s income even if the sponsor and spouse were married after signing the agreement. If the immigrant switches sponsors during the certification period, recalculate deemed income based on the required information about the new sponsor as soon as possible after the information is supplied by the immigrant and verified. Actual money paid to the immigrant by the sponsor’s spouse is not considered income to the immigrant unless the amount paid exceeds the amount deemed. The amount paid that actually exceeds amount deemed is considered income to the immigrant in addition to the amount deemed (sponsor’s countable income).
To determine the amount of income to attribute to the sponsored immigrant, follow the procedure below.
Income of the sponsor and the sponsor’s spouse includes all gross income, including income from self-employment, but excludes all income exclusions allowed program applicants.
- add the monthly gross earned income of the sponsor and sponsor’s spouse
- deduct 20% of the earned income (earned income deduction)
- add the monthly gross unearned income of the sponsor and sponsor’s spouse
- subtract the gross income eligibility limit (130% of federal poverty level) for an EU equal in size to the sponsor’s EU (refer to the Basis of Issuance Tables or Reporting Requirements chart)
- The remainder is the amount to deem to the sponsored immigrant
If a sponsor sponsors other immigrants, divide the income deemed to the sponsored immigrant(s) by the number of such immigrants that apply for or are receiving Food Stamps. If other immigrant support is not verified, the deemed income and resource amounts calculated are attributed to the applicant immigrant in their entirety until the information is provided. The income is determined in an offline determination. Enter the sponsor’s income for each immigrant s/he sponsors. Enter UI (unearned income) as the type and AC (alien sponsor contribution) as the source on the Income (FMX0) screen.