{"id":21263,"date":"2018-09-27T18:36:54","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T18:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/?p=21263"},"modified":"2018-09-27T19:24:40","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T19:24:40","slug":"usa-public-charge-rule-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/usa-public-charge-rule-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"DHS Public Charge Rule: A New Threat to Immigrants or a Boon to Trump\u2019s America?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Self-sufficiency has always been a fundamental of the US Immigration law for individuals seeking entry to the United States on various visas, for non-citizens seeking lawful permanent residency in the country, and those on a temporary visa seeking extension of their stay in the same non-immigrant category or shift to a different non-immigrant category.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Since the 1800s, the US Congress has made it a law that foreign nationals are inadmissible to the country if they lack self-sufficiency, or if they are likely to become a \u2018public charge\u2019<\/strong>. All these years, public charge has not been defined in the federal registrar of regulations. Besides, there have been inadequate guidelines on how to determine if an individual seeking entry to the US, or status adjustment in the country is likely to become a public charge at any point of time.<\/p>\n
If a foreign individual is likely to become a public charge in the opinion of a consular officer or an attorney general evaluating the individual\u2019s age, health, education, skills, assets and financial status, he or she is simply inadmissible to the United States. In the Trump administration, the White House is all set to administer the public charge ground of inadmissibility against the immigrants or non-citizens who meet their needs using public resources within the country\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n
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The Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said, \u201cThose planning to immigrate to the United States must establish their ability to meet their housing and healthcare needs and other requirements, relying on their own capabilities and resources as long as they will be staying here.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A new frontier in the US government\u2019s hard stance on immigration<\/span><\/a>, the \u2018public charge ground of inadmissibility\u2019 rule is expected to spew harsh repercussions on immigrant families, legal and illegal.<\/strong> In the past, immigrants having received cash welfare as part of the federal aid for needy families were at the risks of being designated \u2018public charge\u2019, a category of immigrants who primarily depend on the government schemes for subsistence.<\/p>\n
The \u2018public charge\u2019 designation could lessen one\u2019s chances for lawful permanent residence or green card in the USA.<\/strong> Both the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services are looking to enforce the amplified \u2018public charge\u2019 rule on a broader scale. The proposed rule will await a 60-day public comment period for inputs from the members of several public bodies.<\/p>\n
The proposed policy about the implementation of the public charge rule proposes a drastic hike in the financial levels for green card applicants to meet as an eligibility norm<\/strong> for permanent residence in the US. At present, green card applicants are required to show that they meet 125 % of the Federal Poverty Level. But the new policy seeks to raise the income level as much as 250% of the Federal Poverty Level, which could translate to an approximate $52,000 yearly for an immigrant couple with one child.<\/p>\n
The public charge rule, if enforced, would significantly impact the green card applicants who came to the US through family-based migration, and H4 visa holders<\/strong> who may be required to prove their income eligibility despite having no work authorization, according to immigration policy experts and analysts. Thus, it may cause immigrant families to split and force immigrant couples to live apart for an indefinite period.<\/p>\n
Intended to reshape the population of US immigrants on the basis of self-sufficiency, financial capability and skills, the public charge rule would empower the administration to weed out lower-skilled applicants among the lower-income immigrants receiving federal benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance, or child care.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Even those who have intentionally decided to opt out of the government assistance despite their eligibility for the federal benefits may be put on the radar of the public charge rule<\/strong> if the government sees any possibility of their being likely to be dependent on the public resources. Immigration advocates find it an unjust penalty to hard-working immigrants who may seek temporary dependence on the government while trying to achieve self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n