Judge Blocks Trump Administration Public Charge Wealth Test
If your Green Card aspirations have been blocked by Trump’s public charge policy, there’s at least a little good news on the horizon. A federal judge just blocked the public charge rule.
Though some form of the public charge rule has existed for over 100 years, the Trump administration added policy provisions that allowed USCIS to deny permanent residency to immigrants for using food stamps, Medicaid, housing vouchers and other key public benefits.
Every green card applicant had to show they wouldn’t become public charges.
Essentially this rule served as a wealth test for applicants.
The court’s new ruling is that to be deemed a public charge, “requires a degree of dependence beyond temporary assistance.”
USCIS says that on Monday they did stop applying the 2019 public charge rules both to pending and future applications.
Here on the eve of the election it’s important to know that former Vice President Joe Biden intends to revoke the public charge rule if elected.
What does this mean for you if you are currently seeking a green card?
First, it’s a good idea to contact your immigration lawyer if you’ve taken advantage of public benefit programs in the past, especially if you’re planning on launching a new green card application. Keep in mind that even under the old rules that you had to use those benefits for a certain amount of time before they’re counted against you: “for more than 12 months combined in any three-year period, or if a family with an applicant received two different forms of public assistance in a month, the administration could freely deny applications for permanent residency.”
If Covid-19 has created a temporary need for your family, you should not, at this time, be afraid to apply for help, especially medical help. One reason the judge struck the rule down was because there was concern over how this rule might impact public health during the Covid-19 pandemic. Emergency care was also never counted against you under the public charge rule.
The rule has been a source of major confusion for green card applicants across the nation. Yet if you’re feeling confusion, you don’t have to wait and worry. You can reach out to Hykel Law to schedule a consultation today. We help solve immigration challenges, and we’re here to help.
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