Last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding President Trump’s new “public charge” rule will make it much harder for low-income and poor immigrants to get green cards. The rule takes effect Feb. 24, so file now if you can. Applications for adjustment of status filed before then will be decided under the current rule. Here are answers to some common questions about the rule.
Q. What does the new rule change mean?
A. Most green card applicants must prove that they will not become a public charge. That is, that they won’t need public assistance to live in the United States. The new rule has two important public charge provisions. First, it penalizes individuals who get certain federal benefits. Only a very small number of green card applicants qualify for these benefits, so this rule will have little impact.
More significant is the second change emphasizing a “totality of circumstances” test to determine who will become a public charge. Under this test, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will consider “heavily weighted negative factors” such as being unemployed despite having employment authorization and “heavily weighted positive” factors such as household income at 250% of the federal poverty guidelines.
Q. Who is affected by the new rule?
A. For now, the rule applies only to adjustment of status applicants — green card applicants interviewing in the United States. The rule does not yet apply to green card applicants interviewing at a U.S. consulate abroad. Still, in this climate applicants interviewing abroad should take extra care to prove that you live in the United States without needing government support.
Green card holders who received federal benefits need be concerned only if they are returning from more than six months abroad. Asylees and refugees and a few other categories are exempt. Naturalization applicants are not impacted.
Q. To be safe, should I stop getting public benefits?
A. No. If you are getting federal benefits, the new rule likely doesn’t apply to you. If you are getting state or city-funded benefits, that won’t necessarily be a negative factor under the new rule. Check with an immigration law expert before ending needed benefits.
Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.
