New Public Charge Rule Proposed by DHS

Under the proposed Public Charge rule, DHS proposes to change a definition from “likely at any time to become a public charge” to “likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence.” Consistent with long-standing agency practice, DHS proposes to consider the following public benefits when making a public charge inadmissibility determination:

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
• Cash assistance for income maintenance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program;
• State, Tribal, territorial, and local cash assistance for income maintenance; and
• Long-term institutionalization at government expense.

DHS proposes that it not consider noncash benefits such as food and nutrition assistance programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Children’s Health Insurance Program, most Medicaid benefits (except for long-term institutionalization at government expense), housing benefits, and transportation vouchers. DHS would also not consider disaster assistance received under the Stafford Act; pandemic assistance; benefits received via a tax credit or deduction; or Social Security, government pensions, or other earned benefits. 
By law, many categories of noncitizens are exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility and would not be subject to the proposed rule. Some of these categories are refugees, asylees, noncitizens applying for or re-registering for temporary protected status (TPS), special immigration juveniles, T and U nonimmigrants, and self-petitioners under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Under the proposed rule, if a noncitizen received public benefits while in an immigration category that is exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility, DHS would not consider the noncitizen’s past receipt of such benefits as part of any future public charge determination.

The Proposed Rule is published here. And here. 

On March 9, 2021, USCIS stopped applying the 2019 Public Charge Rule introduced by previous administration and reverted to the 1999 rule. Current overview of a public charge rule is here. 

Briefly in Russian:

Департамент госбезопасности США опубликовал сегодня законопроект нового закона о Получении пособий для иммигрантов и как это влияет на возможность отакза грин карты как Public Charge (получатель пособий).

Закон от 2019 был отменен и его прекратили приминять в марте 2021. USCIS вернулся к применению старого закона от 1999, который более мягкий.

Сегодня опубликован новый законопроект, который сужает категории пособий, получение которых может лишить иммигранта шанса получить грин карту или вид на жительство в США.

Закон менят само определение того, что является public charge и получение каких именно пособий или бенефитов считается public charge. 

Категрии пособий за которые можно лишиться шанса на грин карту сужены в основном на те группы, где пособие в форме денежных выплат. Medicaid за некторыми исключениями теперь не будет влиять на получение грин карты.