Could a period of unemployment due to the Coronavirus put somebody at risk under the
public charge rule? Again, a huge point of concern for a lot of immigrants. And we'll
talk about it in this video. So, stay tuned. We'll see on the other side. Hello, friends.
This is Jacob Sapochnick, I am an immigration attorney located in San Diego, California.
And in this video, we'll talk about whether unemployment, taking unemployment can put
somebody at risk under the public charge rule, especially for immigrants that have not yet
received the green cards? A huge concern and a lot of questions that I received about this
topic. Before we dive into the details of the video, if you're here for the first time,
I ask you that you subscribe to our channel. Click this bell to be notified. We release
videos every single week. And if you're on Instagram or TikTok, make sure you follow
us there as well. Another announcement I want to make is that because of all the questions
that we're getting, and really overwhelmed with the questions, we've decided to create
a private Facebook group to create a space for you to ask questions in a safe place away
from the public eye. And so, the link for the private group is right here. It's on Facebook.
And you're welcome to join there and ask your questions. And there's a lot of amazing people
there that contribute, answer questions. And I want to see you there as well. So, let's
dive into the video. So, does accepting unemployment, does taking unemployment can put you at risk
under the Coronavirus? The answer is no. When the USCIS and the DHS, Homeland Security,
came up with a public charge rule, unemployment was not considered to be a public charge,
meaning that it's not… if somebody lost their job, it's not going to immediately put
them at risk of not being able to get their green card and fail the test. The reason is
because unemployment is an earned benefit, which means that when you work, you pay into
the Social Security fund with your paycheck, and therefore it's not a benefit that you
did not deserve. So, therefore, if you are eligible for unemployment, and you do take
it because it wasn't your fault that you lost your job, it's not going to be a negative
for a public charge. And you're not going to fail the test. Once again, it's an earned
benefit just like when you get Social Security benefits and Medicaid, and those things are
not going to put you at risk of public charge. Now, taking unemployment in some states is
also open to people that are on DACA, even though they don't have legal status, and also,
in other states, the people that, again, are going through the immigration process that
changes from state to state. But in the general rule, if you take unemployment, you're not
really subject to the public charge rule because the general idea of USCIS is that people who
are legally authorized to work, typically, if they're laid off, they should be able to
take unemployment. But like I said before, in some states, people that have DACA, they
have a work permit, and they're allowed to accept unemployment as well. And because,
again, they're paying into the fund with their paychecks, and so on, and so forth. So, that's
just the benefit. And the general idea is that if you worked, and you paid your taxes,
and taxes were taken from your paycheck, you are eligible for unemployment. And taking
unemployment is not going to put you at risk under the public charge rule, which eventually
will put you at risk of getting a green card. So, hopefully, this information was clear.
If you have any questions, post them in the comments below. And let me know what other
videos you have about public charge, what other questions you need, and I'll be able
to make more of those videos. Once again, remember the private Facebook group, I welcome
you to join there. The link is right here. So, thank you for watching, and I'll see you
in our next video.