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Original Date Announced
August 14, 2019USCIS issues final rule, signed by Acting Secretary McAleenan, on public charge inadmissibility grounds, which governs admission and adjustment of status. The rule requires consideration of certain previously excluded programs including Medicaid, SNAP, Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy, and several housing programs. Pending applications and petitions are not subject to the new rule.
[ID #766]
USCIS Announces Final Rule on Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds USCIS Final Rule on Inadmissibility on Public Charge GroundsEffective Date
October 15, 2019Subsequent Trump-Era and Court Action(s)
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October 2, 2019
DHS publishes final rule correction on 10/2/19 addressing "technical and typographical errors."
Technical corrections to final rule
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January 30, 2020
USCIS announces public charge rule implementation
Following the Supreme Court stay of the nationwide preliminary injunction issued by the S.D.N.Y., USCIS announces it will implement the Public Charge rule beginning February 24, 2020. The rule will be implemented everywhere except for in Illinois, where the rule remains enjoined.
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February 5, 2020
USCIS Policy Alert (PA-202-04) Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
USCIS issues alert describing guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual concerning the Public Charge rule. Among other things, the guidance defines "public charge," lists factors officers consider in public charge determinations, and lists categories of applicants eligible for waivers.
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February 24, 2020
DHS Implements Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule
On February 24, 2020 DHS implements the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule nationwide, including in Illinois.
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September 22, 2020
USCIS Policy Manual: Part G - Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
USCIS Policy Manual section on public charge details adjudication instructions regarding implementation of the rule.
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March 9, 2021
2021.04.26 AILA - Public Charge Issue
Several U.S. District Courts initially enjoined the public charge rule. Subsequent decisions by two Circuit Courts upheld the initial injunctions (Second and Seventh); one vacated the initial injunction (Fourth); and one Circuit partially enjoined the rule but delayed the effective date of the order until the U.S. Supreme Court determined whether to grant certiorari in two separate cases (Ninth). The Supreme Court dismissed appeals from the Second, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits on March 9, 2021 based on the parties' joint stipulation to dismiss.
The cases are:
- Second Circuit: Injunction upheld 8/4/20 but scope limited to NY, CT. VT. Stayed by SCOTUS 1/27/20. COVID-related injunction stayed by 2nd Cir. 9/11/20. New York v. DHS (S.D.N.Y. 1:19-cv-0777; 2nd Cir. 19-3591). SCOTUS granted cert. on 2/22/21.
- On March 9, 2021, the parties submitted a joint-stipulation to dismiss the case to SCOTUS.
- Fourth Circuit: Nationwide injunction vacated 8/5/20. CASA de Maryland v. Trump (D. Maryland 8:19-cv-02715; 4th Cir. 19-2222).
- Seventh Circuit: Illinois injunction upheld 6/10/20. Rehearing denied 8/12/20. Cook County & ICIRR v. Wolf (N.D. Ill. 1:19-cv-06334; 7th Cir. 19-3169). Stayed by SCOTUS 2/21/20.
- On March 9, 2021, the parties submitted a joint-stipulation to dismiss the case to SCOTUS.
- Texas and other states filed a motion to intervene, but on April 26, 2021, SCOTUS denied their application.
- Ninth Circuit: Nationwide injunction stayed 12/5/19; decision issued 12/2/20, partially reinstating two lower court injunctions, but vacating portion of the Eastern District of Washington's injunction that applied nationwide. The rule was enjoined in plaintiff jurisdictions - 18 states and the District of Columbia (though the mandate had not yet issued). State of California v. DHS (9th Cir. 19-17213). The appeal comes from district court orders in the consolidated cases City and County of San Francisco; County of Santa Clara v. USCIS (N.D. Cal. 19-cv-04717) and State of California v. DHS (N.D. Cal. 19-cv-04975), and the separate case State of Washington v. DHS (E.D. Wash. 19-cv-05210).
- In mid-March, 11 states sought to intervene in the Ninth Circuit litigation to defend the public charge rule after the Biden administration "effectively abandoned" it. On April 8, 2021, a split panel denied their motion to intervene, functionally ending the litigation.
- Separately, in La Clinica De La Raza et al. v. Trump et al. (N.D. Cal. 4:19-cv-04980), on 11/25/20, the district court granted the plaintiffs' motion to reconsider HSA/FVRA claims, after previously granting the government's motion to dismiss such claims on 8/7/20.
- On January 22, 2020, the Ninth Circuit granted DHS’s request to delay the effective date of the December decision until the U.S. Supreme Court determines whether it will grant writs of certiorari in Wolf v. Cook County, No. 20-450, and DHS v. New York, No. 20-449, two separate public charge cases. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the appeals in both these cases, as well as the above mentioned Ninth Circuit cases, on March 9, 2021 based on the parties' joint stipulation to dismiss.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
View Document - Second Circuit: Injunction upheld 8/4/20 but scope limited to NY, CT. VT. Stayed by SCOTUS 1/27/20. COVID-related injunction stayed by 2nd Cir. 9/11/20. New York v. DHS (S.D.N.Y. 1:19-cv-0777; 2nd Cir. 19-3591). SCOTUS granted cert. on 2/22/21.
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October 30, 2021
2021.10.29 Cert decision Arizona v. San Francisco
On October 30, 2021, the Supreme Court granted cert in Arizona v. San Francisco. The Court will consider the following questions regarding the Trump administration's DHS public charge rule:
- Whether States with interests should be permitted to intervene to defend a rule when the United States ceases to defend.
- Whether the Rule is contrary to law or arbitrary and capricious.
- Alternatively, whether the decision below as to the Rule should be vacated as moot under Munsingwear.
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June 15, 2022
SCOTUS Order Dismissing Writ of Certiorari
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a per curiam order, dismisses its prior grant of certiorari as improvidently granted.
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June 27, 2022
2022.06.27 Cook County v. Texas (7th Cir. 2022)
The DHS announced in March 2021 that it would no longer defend the 2019 public charge rule in the case Cook County v. Wolf - Memorandum (N.D. Ill. Nov. 2, 2020). The Plaintiff-Appellees who had initially brought the action also voluntarily dismissed their equal-protection claims with prejudice. On March 15, 2021, DHS promulgated a final rule that effectively removed the 2019 Rule from the Code of Federal Regulations.
On May 12, 2021, thirteen states moved to intervene in the existing action before the district court, hoping to defend the 2019 rule. The district court denied both the motions to intervene and the requested substantive relief, finding each motion untimely. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's orders, stating that if the States wished to challenge the repeal of the 2019 Rule under the APA, they could do so in fresh legal proceedings.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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September 30, 2024
2024.09.30 Texas v. Mayorkas Memorandum Opinion and Order
On September 30, 2024, the Southern District of Texas Victoria Division issued a decision granting Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment in the State of Texas' Administrative Procedure Act challenge to the Biden administration's repeal of the 2019 rule and implementation of the 2022 rule. The Court held that the State of Texas lacked standing to bring the challenge because it failed to show that a single additional person was, or would be, granted admission into the country, or the State, under the 2022 rule compared to the 2019 rule.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
View Document
Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced
March 9, 2021Before the U.S. Supreme Court: Joint Stipulation to Dismiss
This Biden Administration policy in effect revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.
On March 9, 2021, DOJ filed with plaintiffs a joint stipulation to dismiss the case before the U.S. Supreme Court, effectively ending the rule.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced
March 10, 2021USCIS Website: Public Charge
This Biden administration policy revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.
On March 10, 2021, USCIS posted on its website a return to the pre-Trump era public charge policy and instructed applicants on how to deal with requests for evidence and notices of intent to deny issued under the now-defunct policy.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Under Study
August 23, 20212021.08.23 Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
This Biden administration policy considers questions related to the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.
On August 23, 2021, USCIS issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of virtual public listening sessions to seek broad public feedback on the public charge ground of inadmissibility that will inform the development of a future regulatory proposal.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Proposed Revocation/Replacement/Modification
February 17, 20222022.02.24 NPRM DHS Public Charge Inadmissibility Ground
On February 24, 2022, the Biden administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the public charge ground of inadmissibility. The proposed rule would reinstate the agency interpretation (issued in guidance) that governed public charge analysis before the Trump-era rule identified in this entry. Under this proposed rule, a noncitizen would be considered likely to become a public charge if they are likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by public cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense. The rule was published in the Federal Register on February 24, 2022.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced
September 9, 20222022.09.09 Federal Register
On September 9, 2022, the Biden administration issued a final rule on the public charge ground of inadmissibility, which formalized guidance that governed public charge analysis before the Trump-era rule identified in this entry. Under the Biden administration's rule, a noncitizen is considered likely to become a public charge if they receive public cash assistance for the maintenance of their income or experience long-term institutionalization at the government's expense. The final rule explicitly notes that DHS will not consider use of non-cash benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP, and COVID-19 stimulus payments when determining whether a noncitizen is likely to become a public charge.
The rule was published in the Federal Register on September 9, 2022, and is effective December 23, 2022.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Other
July 20, 2023USCIS - Incorporating Guidance on Applicability of the Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
On July 20, 2023, USCIS updated the USCIS Policy Manual to help applicants for adjustment of status more easily identify whether the public charge ground of inadmissibility applies to a specific adjustment of status category. This update does not change the Biden Administration's USCIS policy. Rather it simply incorporates information from the related appendices in Part G of Volume 8 of the Policy Manual into the guidance under Chapter 3 (Applicability). Therefore, this manual change helps clarify implementation of the final rule on the public charge ground of inadmissibility published in the Federal Register on September 9, 2022.
View DocumentCurrent Status
Not in effectMost Recent Action
July 20, 2023 Action: Other USCIS - Incorporating Guidance on Applicability of the Public Charge Ground of InadmissibilityMarch 9, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
March 10, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
August 23, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
February 17, 2022Acted on by Biden Administration
September 9, 2022Acted on by Biden Administration
July 20, 2023Acted on by Biden Administration
Original Trump Policy Status
Trump Administration Action: RuleSubject Matter: Non-Immigrant Visas Immigrant VisasAgencies Affected: USCISAssociated or Derivative Policies
- March 14, 2017 DHS proposes changes to Affidavit of Support forms (Form I-864, Form I-864A, Form I-864EZ and Form I-864W)
- August 14, 2019 New Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, required for adjustment of status applications
- August 14, 2019 USCIS publishes revised forms consistent with final rule on public charge ground of inadmissibility
- August 14, 2019 USCIS releases new forms, Form I-945 and I-356, to formalize the public charge bond process
- October 4, 2019 POTUS issues proclamation suspending entry of immigrants unable to obtain health care
- October 11, 2019 State Department acts on 'Public Charge' changes, including issuing Interim Final Rule
Pre Trump-Era Policies
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March 26, 1999
Legacy INS guidance previously limited the interpretation of ‘‘likely at any time to become a public charge’’ as likely to become primarily dependent on the government (federal, state, or local) for subsistence (previously limited to public cash assistance for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense). This was the pre-Trump policy - this original policy had already been altered through changes to the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual.
INS Field Guidance on Deportability and Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds from 1999
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
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New Policy
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New Policy
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Prior Policy
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Subsequent Action
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Subsequent Action
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
USCIS Policy Alert - Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
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Subsequent Action
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
AILA Featured Issue: Public Charge Changes at USCIS, DOJ, and DOS
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
2021.10.29 Cert decision Arizona v. San Francisco
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Subsequent Action
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Subsequent Action
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Subsequent Action
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Other
Biden Administration Policy Documents
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Biden Administration Action
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Biden Administration Action
Original Source:
USCIS Website: Public Charge
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Biden Administration Action
Original Source:
Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
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Biden Administration Action
Original Source:
Proposed Rule Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility
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Biden Administration Action
Original Source:
2022.09.09 Final Public Charge Rule
- Biden Administration Action