A January 27 Supreme Court ruling has made it significantly easier for the federal government to deny adjustment of status (green card) cases on “public charge” grounds – except in Illinois that is.  More about Illinois later.  First, it’s important to understand that since 1999 the federal government has been able to deny green card cases if the beneficiary is “likely to become a public charge” – to become dependent on public benefits.   But the definition of “public benefits” has been restricted to cash programs and government-supported long-term care.  In addition, securing an affidavit of support has usually been enough to cure a beneficiary’s low income or limited asset problems. (The affiant promises to provide support, so the individual won’t have to turn to public benefits.)

However, the recent Supreme Court decision, which allowed a Trump Administration final rule to go forward, raises two new difficulties.  For one thing, the definition of “public benefit” has widened, so that an adjudicating officer may now consider factors such as previous use of Medicaid and SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) as negative factors in his or her decision.  Second, a much wider array of factors now figures into the decision of “likely to become a public charge,” including the applicant’s age, health, family status and education and skills.

Legally speaking, this stricter rule cannot be implemented in Illinois:  a Federal Appeals court injunction which is still in effect blocks it from taking effect in the state. But what that means for regarding green card decisions benefiting Illinois residents is not at all clear.  It *should* mean that an adjudicator at any USCIS service center will switch to pre-Trump administration rules when considering such cases.

For applicants from the other 49 states, the new public charge rule will go into effect for all cases filed on or after February 24^th.

Read about the new rule here:

https://www.uscis.gov/legal-resources/final-rule-public-charge-ground-inadmissibility