The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), published the final rule, “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds; Implementation of Vacatur,” to the Federal Register on March 15, removing regulatory language from the harmful 2019 Public Charge Rule from the previous administration. This comes shortly after the Supreme Court agreed to dismiss litigation on the 2019 Public Charge Rule and DHS/USCIS announced that they would follow the 1999 Interim Field Guidance, the policy in place before the 2019 rule (see Memo, 03/15).
Along with removing the 2019 Public Charge Rule language, immigrant families applying for admission to the country, Lawful Permanent Resident, or for extension of nonimmigrant stay or change no longer need to provide information or evidence that is solely related to the 2019 Public Charge Rule. This includes information provided on Form I-944 (Declaration of Self-Sufficiency), which has also been discontinued in the final rule. The final rule was the last step in implementing the vacatur made by the Supreme Court and DHS/USCIS stopped applying the 2019 Public Chare Rule on March 9.
“Today, DHS closed the book on the public charge rule and is doing the same with respect to a proposed rule regarding the affidavit of support that would have placed undue burdens on American families wishing to sponsor individuals lawfully immigrating to the U.S.,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “In the weeks ahead, we will work with our federal agency partners and community leaders to ensure immigrants and their families have accurate information about our public charge policies. DHS is committed to implementing reforms that improve our immigration system and reduce unnecessary barriers to legal immigration.”
Read the updated fact sheet “Public Charge: What Advocates Need to Know Now” for more information and key messages to share.
The final rule, “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds; Implementation of Vacatur,” is at: http://bit.ly/3bSvKTW
A statement from DHS on the final rule is at: http://bit.ly/3cx6IbW
A USCIS Public Charge Fact Sheet is at: http://bit.ly/2OWCbwd
Protecting Immigrant Families’ updated version of “Public Charge: What Advocates Need to Know Now” is at: http://bit.ly/3jj6FDF