Published on March 10, 2021
Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the U.S. government will no longer enforce the Public Charge Final Rule implemented by the Trump Administration on February 24, 2020, following a ruling by the U.S. District Court in Illinois vacating the rule.
USCIS has announced that applicants for temporary, nonimmigrant status and permanent residency in the U.S. are no longer required to provide evidence that they will not become a public charge, as required by the Public Charge Final Rule. This means that applicants for green cards are no longer required to submit the Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, or any evidence or documentation required by the Public Charge Rule. In addition, applicants for an extension or change of nonimmigrant status are not required provide information regarding public benefits on Form I-129, Form I-129CW, Form I-539, and/or Form I-539A.
In the same announcement, USCIS confirmed that evidence and information provided in connection with applications and petitions filed prior to March 9, 2021 that relates solely to the Public Charge Final Rule will not be considered in the adjudication process. Further, if USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) requesting information that is solely required by the Public Charge Final Rule, and the deadline for the response is on or after March 9, 2021, information that is only required by Public Charge Final Rule does not need to be included in the response.
USCIS will issue additional guidance regarding the form changes impacted by this announcement. Until then, USCIS will accept Form I-485 applications that include or exclude the Form I-944 Declaration of Self-Sufficiency. Further, USCIS will not reject Form I-129, Form I-129CW, Form I-539, or Form I-539A solely based on the public benefits questions.
For background, you may view our previous posts about the public charge rule: District Court Enjoins Public Charge Rule, Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Enforce Public Charge Rule, Public Charge Rule Enjoined, and DHS Proposes new Rule on Public Charge and Inadmissibility.
If you have any questions about this announcement and the impact on your petition or application, please reach out to the Immigration Attorneys at Ryan Swanson.
Cody Nunn can be reached at [email protected].
Amy Royalty can be reached at [email protected].
Jen Chen can be reached at [email protected].
Marsha Mavunkel can be reached at [email protected].
Janet Cheetham can be reached at [email protected].
Joel Paget can be reached at [email protected].
Visit our blog to stay up to date on all the latest immigration developments and alerts.
This message has been released by the Immigration Group at Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC to advise of recent developments in the law. Because each situation is different, this information is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice on any specific facts and circumstances. Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC is a full-service law firm located in Seattle, Washington.
