Public Charge and Immigration Law

While public charge has been a part of our immigration laws for more than a hundred years, changes including actions taken by the Trump and Biden administrations brought renewed attention to public charge law. The Trump-era changes to public charge are no longer in effect, however immigrant families and communities continue to fear public charge repercussions when they access public benefits.

Highlights

This manual is designed to help individuals who serve immigrant communities that qualify for public benefits better understand the current state of public charge and how it applies or does not apply to immigrant families. This resource is meant to equip advocates and others with detailed information on current public charge policies and standards for determining the likelihood of becoming a public charge, so that you can provide accurate, up-to-date information and combat the ongoing chilling effect, heightened by recent discourse on public charge over the last few years.

New in this Edition

• Latest updates on pending litigation challenging public charge rules by both current and previous administrations;
• Detailed information on new Department of Homeland Security public charge rule that went into effect in late 2022;
• In-depth discussion of updated USCIS Policy Manual guidance implementing the new rule;
• Updates on current public charge policy at U.S. consulates and embassies abroad.