Public Charge Inadmissibility: Adjustment of Status, Public Benefits, Financial Evidence, and Client Counseling

This CLE webinar will examine public charge inadmissibility under the current DHS and USCIS framework and how immigration counsel should evaluate and prepare adjustment cases where public charge may be an issue. The panel will discuss who is subject to the public charge ground, how USCIS applies the totality of the circumstances standard, and how counsel can address public charge concerns.

The public charge ground of inadmissibility changed significantly after DHS rescinded the 2022 regulatory framework. USCIS now has broader discretion to determine whether an applicant is likely at any time to become a public charge. Practitioners must understand the current standard and how it is being applied. The outcome of the inquiry will turn upon the totality of the circumstances.

USCIS evaluates statutory factors along with other relevant information to assess the likelihood of an applicant becoming a public charge. Public benefits and the applicant's financial circumstances may become part of that analysis. However, no single factor necessarily determines the outcome.

Immigration attorneys must understand that a sufficient affidavit of support does not necessarily resolve the public charge inquiry. Form I-864, sponsors and joint sponsors, assets, and, in some cases, a public charge bond may help address concerns, but counsel must fully evaluate an applicant's overall circumstances and determine what evidence to include with the adjustment application. Finally, when USCIS raises concerns, practitioners must be ready to reply with an RFE or NOID response.

Listen as our panel discusses how the current public charge standard applies to adjustment cases, how to identify and address potential public charge concerns, and how to develop the record and counsel clients under the current framework.