USCIS New Public Charge Rule and I-944 Form Back in Force

On September 11, 2020, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals limited the scope of the preliminary injunction on the USCIS new public charge rule issued by the New York State District Court. The Court of Appeals changed the injunction from nationwide to only applying to New York, and two other states in the jurisdiction of the Court (it was a little more complicated than that, but this was the result). When the New York District Court first entered its nationwide injunction, USCIS immediately stopped enforcement of the new rule and no longer required the new I-944 form. Because of the ruling of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, there was speculation that USCIS would re-implement that rule. It took two weeks, but USCIS has finally re-implemented the public charge rule. In a statement put out yesterday, USCIS indicated that any case filed since the new rule was put out and before October 13, 2020, that did NOT include the I-944 and/or supporting documents would be issued a Request For Evidence for the documentation. Come October 13, 2020, however, any case received by USCIS without the I-944 and supporting documents would be rejected.

For those not familiar with the new rule, USCIS changed its longstanding public charge rule to expand the types of public support that could affect the ability of someone to show that they would not likely become a public charge. In addition, USCIS greatly expanded the documents required for it to make a determination on whether someone would become a public charge. Under the new rule, a new form, the I-944 form, was required for immigrants which required information on all assets and liabilities for each applicant as well as proof of health insurance, marketable skills, language skills, and credit score and report. Once USCIS had all the required information and documents it would balance the positive and negative factors to determine if it felt someone would likely become a public charge. In addition to the above, many of the non-immigrant forms also now include certain questions on public charge issues as well.

We will update you with any other changes or update to this rule. And remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.