US Immigration Now Checking Social Media for Antisemitic Content
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that starting in April 2025, U.S. immigration officials will begin reviewing the social media accounts of certain applicants for U.S. immigration benefits. The stated goal of USCIS is to screen for antisemitic content or links to “terrorist” groups. What’s Changing?The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services…
U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Resume applying Final Public Charge Rule
Based on the September 11, 2020 ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will resume applying the Final Public Charge Rule on a nationwide basis. This means that DHS will apply the Public Charge Rule to all applications and petitions that were postmarked…
Public Charge Rule Update: Changes at USCIS, Department of Justice, and Department of State
As a result of recent federal court rulings, USCIS, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of State have issued new guidance on how the Public Charge Rule (originally implemented on February 24, 2020) will be applied. In sum, USCIS has announced that it will not apply the February 24, 2020 Public Charge…
Things you can do to improve your chances that you will NOT be found likely to be a Public Charge in the future.
Yes, I know that this is a long title for a blog post. But after spending a lot of time going over all of the details of the new Public Charge Rule (the Rule) and working with clients on preparing and submitting the new I-944 Declaration of Self Sufficiency, I have been taking mental notes…
Immigrants and Recovery Rebates under the CARES Act
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law, providing the U.S. economy with a $2 trillion dollar economic recovery package. The package offers financial relief to state and local governments, individuals, small and large businesses, and hospitals that were affected by Coronavirus pandemic. Of particular interest…
Heavily Weighted Negative and Positive Factors under the Public Charge Rule
As explained in a previous post, the Public Charge Rule requires USCIS adjudicators to apply a minimum of seven different factors to immigrant applicants to determine whether they are likely to become a public charge in the future. This has become known as the “Totality of Circumstances” test. In addition to applying this test, adjudicators…
How to comply with the Public Charge Rule if you are applying for Adjustment of Status.
If you are eligible to apply for your green card in the U.S., you will have to file a Form I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This process of Adjustment of Status, which is distinguished from Consular Processing (ie. applying for your green card at a U.S….
USCIS announces that Coronavirus testing will not be considered in the Public Charge Rule analysis
On March 13, 2020, after President Trump declared a national emergency on account of the Coronavirus pandemic, USCIS made the following announcement to confirm that it will not count Coronavirus testing against aliens applying for immigration benefits: “USCIS encourages all those, including aliens, with symptoms that resemble coronavirus (COVID-19) (fever, cough, shortness of breath) to…
Who is NOT subject to the Public Charge Rule?
As discussed in previous blog posts, the Public Charge Rule does not apply to applications for Immigrant visas that are filed overseas at U.S. Consulates. Those applicants continue to be subject to the standards set forth in the FAM (Foreign Affairs Manual) and are required to file the Form DS-5540 Public Charge Questionnaire. In addition…
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…
