News Report | September 3, 2019
Expanded Immigration ‘Public Charge’ Rules Go Into Effect In October 2019; Legal Immigrants May Be Denied Green Cards For Use Of SNAP Or Medicaid
On August 14, 2019, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule clarifying “public charge” rules on legal immigrant use of publicly funded safety-net services. This rule expands the definition of “public charge” to newly include receipt of Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as potentially disqualifications to citizenship. USCIS defines a “public charge,” for the purposes of determining inadmissibility, as an individual who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence. USCIS has previously defined a public charge as an individual who . . .