Immigration: Frequently Asked Questions about “Public Charge”

Summary

Immigration law in the United States has long contained exclusion and removal provisions designed to limit government spending on indigent non-U.S. nationals (aliens). Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an alien may be denied admission into the United States or adjustment to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status if he or she is “likely at any time to become a public charge.” An admitted alien may also be subject to removal from the United States based on a separate public charge ground of deportability, but this ground is rarely employed. Certain categories of aliens, such as refugees and asylees, are exempted from application of the public charge grounds.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS) have primary responsibility for implementing the INA’s public charge provisions. DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration and Services may make a public charge determination when an alien applies to adjust to LPR status. Abroad, DOS consular officers may make a public charge determination when an alien applies for a visa.

Although the INA does not explicitly define the term “public charge,” since 1999, agency guidance has defined it to mean a person who is or is likely to become “primarily dependent” on “public cash assistance for income maintenance” or “institutionaliz[ed] for long-term care at government expense.” However, new public charge rules for DHS are expected to be published in the Federal Register, according to the Unified Agenda of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In addition, in January 2018, DOS revised the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) to instruct consular officers to consider a wider range of public benefits when determining whether visa applicants who have received or are currently receiving benefits are inadmissible on public charge grounds.

This report provides answers to frequently asked questions about current public charge policy, including the sources of laws that govern public charge determinations, who is subject to determinations, factors that are considered in determinations, and the consequences of determinations.