1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebar DHS Final Rule on Public Charge: Overview and Considerations for Congress Updated February 3, 2020 On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule that contains new regul
2、ations interpreting the public charge ground of inadmissibility in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The regulations make it more likely that non-U.S. nationals (aliens) will not qualify to become lawful permanent residents (LPRs) due to their potential future use of public benefits. Specif
3、ically, the regulations render aliens inadmissible to the United States (and thus ineligible to obtain LPR status) if they are “more likely than not at any time in the future to receive one or more public benefits . . . for more than 12 months within any 36-month period.” Some non-cash federal benef
4、itsincluding most forms of Medicaid, federal housing assistance, and benefits received under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)count as “public benefits” under the regulations. In contrast, under the prior executive branch interpretation of the public charge ground of inadmissibili
