This advisory provides practitioners with current information about the public charge ground of inadmissibility, including addressing what is public charge, who does it apply to, how is public charge evaluated, and could being a public charge make someone deportable.
During the Trump administration, the public charge ground of inadmissibility received much attention. The Trump administration implemented new rules on public charge that increased scrutiny of applicants for green cards. The Trump-era rules are no longer in effect.
On December 23, 2022 a new rule on public charge went into effect. For more information, go to the ILRC’s public charge updates page. We are working to update our resources in light of the new rule, which solidifies and strengthens longstanding guidance, but in the meantime much of the information in this resource continues to apply. The new rule codifies longstanding guidance on public charge which is summarized in this practice advisory, and thus the information in this advisory continues to apply including helpful background on when the public charge ground of inadmissibility comes into play and what the statute requires. Note, however, that any I-485 applications submitted on or after December 23, 2022 must use the updated 12/23/22 Form I-485 edition date.
