Alright. So, we are live. Hello, everybody. We’ll let a few more people join us. But
this is Jacob here and we’re doing this live update on the public charge roles there
were announced yesterday and they're going to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow.
So, we’re getting all these questions and inquiries from our YouTube followers and subscribers
and people that are emailing us at the firm and so we wanted to put this update out there
so we know exactly what's going on what happened and just to give you the information you need
to make informed decisions to update your families and everybody who's involved. So,
let's dive into the announcement. And I've got a few notes here to update you. So yesterday,
there was a final announcement as to a rule there was previously before published, we
had a preview of that as to certain limitations of what would happen to people that are in
the process of getting a green card and also, people that are here on non-immigrant visas
that are using public benefits and who are deemed to be a public charge. So, what is
the public charge? So, a charge is a person who is primarily dependent on government resources
for support. And so, I guess the notion of whenever anybody who immigrates to the United
States, they need to prove that they can independently support themselves and if not, there's somebody
who was able to do that for them either through a family member or somebody else who is basically
doing that. But again, there are a lot of things that are happening to people who immigrate.
Sometimes, there are hard times. Sometimes, people have medical issues. And over time
people were using benefits. And now, under this rule, those benefits may be a problem
for people that are going to be adjusting status. So, the idea is that this rule extends
the scope of who is a public charge and what will make you a public charge. So, I think
this is really what is concerning people and people in need. If you read in the news if
you look at some of the publications in the news that came out after this rule was published
yesterday, people are saying that it's basically targeting poor immigrants, it's targeting
people that are coming here and they're not able to have that much money when they start
their life here, they say that it's a rich man's rule, all these things. And so again,
it's really early to make a judgment as to exactly who is going to be impacted by what
I can tell you is that they've really expanded what public charge would mean under this rule.
So for examples, people will be relying on received of non-cash benefits. For example,
we have a list here of [inaudible] food stamps, section eight housing assistance, section
eight project-based rental, and other form of subsidized housing. In addition, they're
talking about Temporary Assistance for Needy Family, a program called TANF, SSI and also
Medicaid. Those are things that will be considered public charge. And the way it works is that,
essentially, they're going back three years, 36 months. And so, in the period of 36 months,
if somebody is demonstrating use of 12 months of public benefits or 12 instances, those
people will be considered public charge and will have issues at a time of adjustment of
status. And also this rule is impacting people that are here on a non-immigrant visa. So,
people who are changing status from a tourist or a student. And also again, the last 36
months can show 12 instances of use of [inaudible] benefits will have an issue and will be able
to get their benefits. So, what does it mean 12 months of use? So, if you look back at
36 months in the US, if you for example, you used Medicaid and food stamps in one month,
that will be considered two instances of use. So for example, if you use two benefits over
a period of six months, then there will be, that'll be considered a violation. And so,
you could in six months, potentially be in violation of the rule, and have an issue when
it comes to adjusting the status or changing your non-immigrant status. So, who is actually
exempt from this rule? So, we have a lot of people that are not going to be part of this.
So, they made a list of, obviously, US citizens, if you're a US citizen, obviously not part
of this rule. People that are going through asylum, refugees, people beneficiaries, [inaudible]
visa, and [inaudible] applications and other people that are coming here to seek protection
and also people that DHS will deem them to be outside of this rule will also not be part
of this. They also extended it to people that are in the military. And immigrants who are
in the military, they're also going to be exempt from that. The fact that we have such
an extensive list is really concerning to some people. But it is what it is. So, it's
important to be ready. The other thing that is interesting is that the rule specifically
mentions non-immigrants. So, people that are here on student visas or tourist visas or
work visas, typically, public charge was something that people that are going through the immigration
process, people on green cards or about to get a green card, had to worry about it because
they had to get a sponsorship. But under this rule, we also have non-immigrants that I mentioned.
So, what it means is that if people here are changing their status. And again, going back
36 months period, if they were also, let's say, using Medicaid or section eight benefits,
those two things could be a violation obviously, and that will impact somebody's ability to
change status. What is more interesting again, is that the rule will also create a special
form, a special form for people that are adjusting their status. So after October 13, the government
will implement a special form. That form is called form I-944 and this form will essentially
be a declaration by the person immigrating that they are… they've never used any public
benefits, that they are now going to be a public charge. So, it's even a more severe
form of attestation, more than the I-64 that typically is used right now for people who
are demonstrating the [inaudible] public charge, there'll be a formal declaration and the call
this the declaration of self-sufficiency. That again, I've never, we’ve never had
that before. This is something that is essentially unheard of. They will make you sign a declaration
of self-sufficiency before you immigrate. So again, people that are joining us right
now, just to recap, we're doing this live YouTube stream to inform you about the new
rules for public charge. Those rules are going to be effective on October 13 2019. And those
rules are expanding the definition of what a public charge is, who is subject to that,
and also expands the list of things that… or benefits, non-cash benefits that people
who are deemed to be properly charged will be considered to be in violation. Again, I'm
going to repeat that. Things like snap food stamps, section eight housing, [inaudible]
section housing, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, and SSI. Again,
those are things that are really important to some people, and some people were using
it. Remember that they gave us this period of 36 months. Within that period of 36 months,
if somebody is deemed to be using at least 12 months of benefits, which could be an example
of Medicaid and SSI, that can be a double usage. So, you could be in six months in violation.
And again, this is something that we have to be really careful because now a lot of
people are going to be adjusting their status. They're going to go to the interviews, and
after October, they're going to be asked the question, if they've taken any benefits and
for how long. So therefore, it's going to be really important for people to be prepared
when they go in for adjustment interviews to be able to document that they either haven't
used these public benefits or if they have used, they fall outside of the formula that
the government had set, the 12 months use, what is the extent. So again, the full rule
is going to be published tomorrow in the Federal Register. So, we're going to read that and
analyze it further and we'll be able to update our viewers as to exactly what this thing
entails. But as of now, a very important announcement was made yesterday about the expansion of
public charge or the charge, essentially, they don't want people to be dependent on
the government, and therefore they expanded that into many, many other areas, and benefits
that people may take that will basically make them a public charge. So, we've seen a lot
of [inaudible] yesterday in the media claiming this to be a rich man's law. They're trying
to discriminate against people who immigrate here from poor countries. Again, they may
or may not be true, but I [inaudible] it's one of the most harshest rules when it comes
to public benefits or people that are trying to immigrate to this country, because essentially,
if you look back at somebody's journey to immigrate, people sometimes fall on hard times,
sometimes they need to seek assistance, even if it's temporary. And we're gonna have to
be very, very careful when we advise our clients who are applying for Adjustment of Status,
green card interviews, as they go through their process, then they’re going to start
questioning them. It remains to be seen what kind of questions they'll be asking what kind
of evidence clients will have to present to prove that they were not part of the public
benefit, public charge definition and so they are exempt from that. And remember, they…
we have read very general specifications as to what it is. We're hopefully going to know
more tomorrow when we have the actual rule published. But what we know right now is that
they published several public benefits criteria that people who use that are going to be subject
to… they’ll have issues, obviously, when they try to get a green card. But what is
more interesting is that they also mentioned non-immigrants. And again, before that, non-immigrants
were never part of the public charge definition but now, if you’re here as a visitor or
H1B visa… and some of the questions that I got today before this live stream is that,
how is that going to impact high-skilled workers? So, imagine you're here on an O1 visa or an
E2 visa, and maybe you've taken that. So, our understanding of this rule is that it
specifically applies to the person who's taken it, So, if the family member has done it and
still violated it, it's not going to impact you the applicant personally. So, it's also
important to understand it is really specific to the person who is actually using it as
opposed to other family members. You’re not going to be imputed by a family member.
It's very specific to you if you've done it. So again, public charge is really a serious
determination. If you deem to be a public charge, you’re really excluded from a lot
of benefits, including actually getting a green card and finally for your adjustment
of status. So, this was just a quick update announcing the public charge rule, what it
is, and who it applies to. And again, to kind of summarize it, if you're wondering if you'll
be impacted by it, look back in the last 36 months, see if you have taken any benefits,
and how many. And again, if you've taken two benefits in a month, they'll consider to be
a double. So, they say 12 months, that means 12 instances of usage. So, if you've used
Medicaid, and section eight housing, they'll be considered like two months of use. So,
it's kind of like a general formula. But hopefully, that helps. And again, we will be providing
more updates once we have more information from the government, once we have more case
studies to see how people are impacted by it, either in interviews or other clients
that are being in violation that we can learn from, and help people navigate the system.
Especially during the adjustment of status, it's already been difficult with those interviews.
Now, we have another layer of difficulty with this public charge update rule that came out
yesterday. So once again, hopefully, this was helpful. There are quite a few people
that are exempt. And we also know that they are going to be looking at some of these cases
on a case by case basis. So, it's not a black and white rule. They give us some definition,
but I feel like there will be people that will be kind of like in violation, but because
it's a case by case cases too, I'm sure that there'll be some room to work with the government,
maybe file those cases that are being rejected. And again, it seems to me it's going to be
quite difficult for people to immigrate, especially those that are really struggling financially.
And it's just a shame that it's going to be even more difficult for people to stay in
this country or to move here, especially those that are financially struggling but they are
still valuable immigrants to provide a lot of, obviously, better face to the country.
And we just hope that there's not going to be a factor to keep people out of this country
or limit how many people can immigrate. Remember, there are quite a few that are exempt from
this rule. And I read the list and we can go through it again. But we’re talking about
US citizens, obviously, exiles, refugees, people on new visas and [inaudible] other
vulnerable populations of people that have come here in specific programs. So again,
it's not going to exclude everybody. But again, still, it's going to hurt quite a few people.
And we're doing this live video to keep you informed, to educate. And again, if you have
any questions, post them in the comment, make sure you subscribe to our channel. We're going
to try to do more of these live videos if you like them, post your questions in the
comments below. And it's probably going to be a lot of hot news coming up and we will
be here to update you every single time. So once again, follow, subscribe, share, and
we'll see you in our next video. So, hopefully, you found this video useful. And we'll see
you at our next broadcast. Thanks for watching. I'm just trying to see for have… I’m getting
some comments here on our other channels but we'll post probably what… I guess, we‘ll
do another video just answering questions in the next couple of weeks. But yeah, thanks
for watching, and we'll see you in our next broadcast. Thanks.