What if I have or my spouse has a disability?
Accommodations
If you have a disability, USCIS is supposed to work with you to provide the proper accommodations. The only limit on accommodations is that they must be reasonable. USCIS defines reasonable as anything which would not “result in a fundamental change to the processes or cause an undue burden for the agency.” Examples of standard accommodations include, but are not limited to: providing sign language interpreters, allowing nonverbal communication, or having a designated representative present.
My Disability Impacts my Income. What can I do?
The US government has established that intending immigrants who would likely become a public charge are inadmissible. A public charge is defined as, someone who receives benefits in any form from the government. Essentially, USCIS has the right to deny anyone a visa who will become primarily financially dependent on the US government, including those with disabilities.
If a sponsor’s income is insufficient, in the eyes of USCIS, to support their spouse, then the sponsor may consider bringing on joint sponsors. A joint sponsor pledges to accept financial responsibility for the beneficiary so they will not become dependent on the US government. Applicants are limited to 2 joint sponsors, in addition to their primary sponsor, the petitioner. USCIS cannot deny an applicant entry based on disability alone, so demonstrating income can contribute significantly to lessening the difficulty of achieving permanent residency.