The “public charge ground of inadmissibility” affects people applying for admission to the U.S. or for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. The public charge test does not apply to humanitarian immigrants such as refugees; asylees; survivors of domestic violence, trafficking and other serious crimes; special immigrant juveniles; and certain individuals paroled into the U.S. Lawful permanent residents are not subject to a public charge determination when they apply for citi

The “public charge” inadmissibility test has been part of federal immigration law for more than 100 years. It is designed to identify people who may depend on government benefits as their main source of support. If the test determines that someone is likely to become a “public charge,” the government can deny admission to the United States or refuse an application for lawful permanent resident status (a “green card”). Recently, the Trump Administration has proposed changes to

There has been a lot of talk lately about the current administration’s proposed changes to the public charge ground of inadmissibility at INA § 212(a)(4), including discussions of leaked versions and the purportedly imminent publication of the actual proposed regulatory changes, possibly as soon as later this month or next. For the time being, nothing has changed in regards to the public charge ground of inadmissibility for adjustment of status cases. However, guidance pertai