Do I have to pay spousal support Under Federal Immigration Affidavit of Support?

In San Francisco Bay Area, many of my clients have sponsored their spouses naturalization process or green card process in the United States. Just getting a divorce does not necessarily change your green card status, but it may impact your support obligations. 

When a U.S. citizen seeks to sponsor an immigrant (including a spouse), the sponsor is required to sign an affidavit of support that includes an agreement to maintain the immigrant at an income level no less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level. 
The Federal  statute provides that the immigrant may file a federal suit to enforce the sponsor's obligation under the affidavit of support. What this means is that even if you do not have to pay spousal support, you may have to pay support under federal law. 

 In Lui v. Mund, a federal court found that an immigrant wife's failure to seek work, which a Wisconsin court had required as a condition for spousal support, did not relieve her ex-husband of his obligation under the affidavit of support that he had signed to sponsor her as a permanent resident in the U.S. 
Speak to a family lawyer or immigration lawyer if you are considering divorcing and you recently completed the green card process.