Are you a public charge? Did you ever apply and receive public benefits such as Medicaid for prenatal care, food stamps/SNAP, WIC and you worry about this may make you a “public charge” and affect your green card application?
According to INA Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), any applicant seeking to become permanent resident of the United States, whether from the USCIS or the US consulates must show at the time of application that he or she is unlikely at any time to become a public charge, or he or she will be considered "inadmissible”, and the application will not be granted.
Public charge has been a ground of inadmissibility for more than 100 years. In my more than 25 years practice as an immigration lawyer, having a financial sponsor who meets the criteria would usually do the trick. However, in the after-Trump era, submitting a qualifying I-864 Affidavit of Support may no longer shield you from a finding of inadmissibility based upon the public charge ground. USCIS and the consulates will look far beyond the affidavit of support to determine whether an alien is likely to become a “public charge”, and consider multiple factors such as income, assets, resources, financial status, education, skills, age, health, family status, etc.
On August 12, 2019 USCIS announces Final Rule enforcing the long-standing Public Charge Inadmissibility Law. This final rule supersedes the 1999 Interim Field Guidance on Deportability and Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds and goes into effect Oct. 15, 2019.
This new law empowers the USCIS with discretionary authority, in limited circumstances, to offer an alien inadmissible only on the public charge ground the opportunity to post a public charge bond in the context of adjustment of status applications. The final rule sets the minimum bond amount at $8,100; the actual bond amount will be dependent on the individual’s circumstances.
The rule also makes nonimmigrant aliens who have received designated public benefits above the designated threshold generally ineligible for extension of stay and change of status.
The rule defines the term “public charge” to mean an individual who receives one or more designated public benefits for more than 12 months, in the aggregate, within any 36-month period (such that, for instance, receipt of two benefits in one month counts as two months).
The rule further defines the term “public benefit” to include:
The rule excludes the following from the public benefits definition:
If you have any public charge issue or concerns, please check with your trusted immigration lawyer first! Call the Law Office of Tricia Wang at (510) 791-0232 or send us an email at tricia@wangslaw.com to schedule an initial consultation with our lawyer. We will waive the consultation fee if we are retained by you for the case.
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©2019 Law Office of Tricia Wang
川普时代的“公众负担“新法2019年8月12日,美国移民局宣布执行 “公众负担” 新规则。新规取代了1999年发布的关于 “公众负担” 临时指南,并于2019年10月15日生效。 在有限情况下,美国移民局有权为那些只是因为使用公众负担而可能被拒绝绿卡申请的人,
在提交调整身份申请时,可以上缴公众负担保证金。新法规规定最低保证金金额为8,100美元;实际保证金金额将因人而异。 新规还规定,非移民外国人如果领取的福利已经超过规定的门槛,通常没有资格申请延期和更改身份。
新规将“公众负担”一词定义为在为期36个月内总共领取一项或超过一项公众福利逾12个月的移民 (一个月内领取2项福利将被算作领取2个月福利)。
该规则将“公众利益”的范围定义为:
该法规还从公众利益定义中排除: