Who is subject to the Public Charge Rule?
U.S. Immigration law requires that alien immigrants seeking “admission” to the U.S. show that they are admissible in order to qualify for certain immigration benefits. In practice, immigrants meet this requirement in reverse, by proving that they are NOT inadmissible to the United States under the law. Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act…
Public Charge Final Rule to be implemented on February 24, 2020
On January 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court injunction and ruled that the Trump administration can implement its Public Charge final rule (the Rule) which seeks to deny immigration benefits to immigrant applicants that the government deems likely to rely on public benefits. As such, USCIS announced that it will be…
Applications to Change or Extend Nonimmigrant Status will be closely examined under the new Public Charge Rule.
In a previous blog post, I wrote about the new Public Charge Rule which will go into effect on October 15, 2019. The most immediate effects of this Rule may be felt by applicants who file I-539 applications or I-129 petitions to extend or change their nonimmigrant status on or after this effective date. According…
The New USCIS Public Charge Rule
FEBRUARY 3, 2020 UPDATE: USCIS has announced that it will be implementing the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule (except in Illinois) and applying it to all petitions and applications filed with USCIS on or after February 24, 2020. When determining whether an alien is likely to become a public charge at any time…



