What is “public charge” and why does it matter? (More from National Immigration Center)
When someone applies for a visa to enter the U.S. or for lawful permanent resident status, a U.S. government official looks at the person’s life circumstances to see if the person is likely to depend on the government for support in the future. If they are deemed likely to become a “public charge” in the future, their application can be denied. The government is proposing to change the public charge policy dramatically, to make it more difficult for low- and moderate-income families to come to and stay in the U.S. Before these proposed rules can be finalized, the government is required by law to give the public an opportunity to comment on its proposed regulations and must respond to those comments before finalizing the rules.
To submit your comment to regulations.gov, go here before December 10, 2018
The Trump administration is proposing to change the federal government’s longstanding policy on “public charge” by broadly expanding the forms of public assistance counted when making a public charge determination. This would force immigrant families to make an impossible choice between meeting basic needs and keeping their families together in this country. Because of its broad scope, the new “public charge,” the Center for American Progress (CAP) is reporting that the newly proposed regulation would affect roughly 900,000 immigrants and 176 million non-immigrants every year.
To submit your comment to regulations.gov, go here before December 10, 2018
