Media Reports Indicate Broader Health-Based Public Charge Review in Visa Adjudications

What’s Happening

Recent media reporting indicates that the U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued internal guidance instructing consular officers to place greater emphasis on an applicant’s health when evaluating potential “public charge” concerns, which may deem them ineligible for a visa. A wider range of chronic, non-communicable, and long-term medical conditions may now factor into visa decisions, particularly in the immigrant visa process.

“Public charge” is a U.S. immigration term used to describe someone who is likely to depend mainly on government assistance for income or long-term care and serves as a ground of inadmissibility that immigration officials may rely upon when deciding to approve or deny certain immigration benefits.

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NY District Court Issues Nationwide Preliminary Injunction on Enforcement of Public Charge Rule During COVID-19 Outbreak

This week, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) issued a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of the Trump Administration’s 2019 regulation titled “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds”. The Public Charge Rule was initially introduced in August of 2019 and has been viewed by many as an extensive and overly burdensome “wealth test” that goes far beyond the existing requirement that green card applicants and those seeking admission to the U.S. from overseas demonstrate that they are not likely to become a public charge (e.g., rely on certain means-tested public benefits).

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