Green-card applicants to face greater public charge scrutiny

Green-card applicants soon could face greater scrutiny when they are deemed a public charge, which defines a person who is primarily dependent on the government.

Public charge guidance allows immigration officials reviewing green-card applications to consider whether a U.S. citizen child of the applicant or one of their relatives has used health or social service programs, even if the green-card applicant has not.

A Tuesday release from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says officers will use five factors to determine if green-card applicants are subject to the public charge of inadmissibility.

The new USCIS rule allows officers to assess all “ pertinent facts ” on a case-by-case basis for each applicant, the Trump administration said.

“The Trump administration is upholding the rule of law and protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing aliens who may become dependent on public benefits,” USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a July statement announcing the rule change.

“USCIS is committed to safeguarding the safety, security, and financial well-being of Americans,” he added.

The five factors that will be evaluated by immigration officers are an applicant’s age, health, education, skills and family status as it relates to assets, resources and financial status.

As of Sept. 18, new changes will replace the 2022 framework with a broader, discretionary evaluation standard for immigration officers implemented through updated USCIS Policy Manual guidance.

Immigration officers also will accept public charge bonds, as they have done in previous years.

“A public charge bond is a financial guarantee where individuals or companies pay a cash bond or post a surety bond with USCIS as an assurance that the alien will not become a public charge,” the USCIS notice says.

“If the alien posts a bond in compliance with the form instructions and the notice issued by the USCIS officer, the USCIS officer may approve the alien’s application for adjustment of status, which makes the alien a lawful permanent resident and allows him or her to remain in the United States,” it adds.

Spouses, children, parents of immigrants, priority workers, investors and U.S. armed forces personnel, among other specific groups, are subject to public charge. Asylees, refugees, human trafficking victims and special immigrant juveniles are not.

An applicant cannot independently choose to submit a bond; rather, USCIS or a consular officer must first issue a formal invitation or notice (such as a Notice of Intent to Deny) if an applicant is found inadmissible solely on public charge grounds.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a final rule on July 20 officially rescinding the Biden administration’s 2022 public charge regulation.