The Biden administration has proposed a new version of the public charge rule
that eliminates barriers imposed by the Trump administration,
meaning that more immigrants will qualify for green cards now.
Stay tuned, because we are going to take a closer look at the proposed rule change,
what it means for immigrants trying to get a green card
and how this is different
from their harsh rule imposed by the Trump administration before.
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So what is the public charge rule and how did it change
under the Trump administration?
The original rule was created by Congress in 1982
and it allowed the government to deny a visa to anyone
who was likely at any time to become a public charge.
They did not define what public charge meant.
So over the years, different administrations have issued
different rules on how it should be defined.
In 2017 The Trump administration changed the rule
to make it harder for illegal immigrants and people applying for a visa
if they had used public assistance at any time in the past.
The new version deemed anyone who received non-cash benefits like Medicaid,
food stamps or housing vouchers for more than 12 months a public charge.
Experts said this discouraged permanent residents and even US citizens
from using benefits like medical care fearing that it might keep them
or their loved ones from getting legal status.
In the new Biden proposal, DHS has said that Trump's
changes caused many non-citizens to be fearful of accessing
benefits that Congress intended for them to have.
This rule change was immediately challenged in a number of court cases
and eventually invalidated through legislation,
with the Biden administration abandoning it in March of 2021.
So what is the new public charge rule proposed by the Biden administration?
This new policy returns the rule back to the regulations
that were in effect before the Trump administration.
Defining a public charge as someone who is primarily dependent
on the government for subsistence, which means that more than half
their income is supplied by the government.
To qualify as a public charge, someone must now either be:
receiving public cash assistance for income maintenance, or
receiving long term institutionalization at the government's expense.
What exactly does this mean?
Receiving public cash assistance for income maintenance means past or current
receipt of Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Cash Assistance—commonly referred to as welfare—or
any other state or local cash assistance for income maintenance.
Long term institutionalization at the government's expense includes
Medicaid or other programs supporting long term institutionalized
care, such as in a nursing home or mental health institution.
Unemployment insurance benefits do not count as cash assistance
underneath these rules.
The Biden administration has said it wants a new rule to be focused
primarily on cash benefits and no longer intends to consider non-cash
benefits like food stamps, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program,
housing and transportation vouchers towards becoming a public charge.
The use of disaster or pandemic assistance, Social Security,
government pensions and other earned benefits will also not be considered.
This new proposal now has a 60 day public comment period
before it becomes official. What do you think?
Will this change in the public charge rule help more immigrants
take advantage of public benefits on their way to becoming citizens?
Leave me comment below and let me know.
And be sure to check out my other video about the bill passed
in the House of Representatives
that will create a new visa and could even reduce the visa backlog.
I will continue to bring you additional immigration news as it becomes available,
so be sure to subscribe and turn on the notifications if you haven't done so yet.
Click here to watch this video next and I'll see you there.