“Public charge” is a ground of inadmissibility. Grounds of inadmissibility are reasons that a person could be denied a green card, visa, or admission into the United States. In deciding whether to grant some applicants a green card or a visa, an immigration officer must decide whether that person is likely to become dependent on certain government benefits in the future, which would make them a “public charge.” It is not a test that applies to everyone, not even to all those applying for green cards.
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) provides trainings and technical assistance on public charge, produces numerous practice advisories, toolkits, and other resources, and authors a comprehensive manual, Public Charge and Immigration Law.
Latest Resources
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
03/01/2023
On December 23, 2022, a new rule on public charge went into effect. The new rule reinforces longstanding policies on public charge that ensure families can access health and nutrition programs and many other benefits without fear. Not all immigrants need to worry about public charge since many are not affected and can receive any public benefit they are eligible for without consequences. This downloadable guide offers more information about whether public charge affects you or your family.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
09/08/2022
Many undocumented immigrants are now eligible for Medi-Cal. This bilingual, two-sided flyer is meant to provide a quick overview of eligibility and key notes regarding the healthcare benefit. Included are also links for identifying registration directories as well as a national directory for free or low-cost immigration legal services.
Resources
Resources
Publication Date
08/29/2022
In California, there are several state and local programs that help California families, including immigrants, meet their basic needs. These programs often play an important role by extending benefits to immigrants who are not eligible for federal benefit programs. This resource gives an overview of some of the public benefits that are available to immigrants in California to access education, healthcare, food assistance, and other important necessities.
Practice Advisory
Resources
Publication Date
05/04/2022
This advisory provides practitioners with current information about the public charge ground of inadmissibility, including addressing what is public charge, who does it apply to, how is public charge evaluated, and could being a public charge make someone deportable.
Public Comments / Sign-on Letters
Resources
Publication Date
03/09/2022
This is an archived collection of comments the ILRC has submitted related to proposed regulations (“rules”) regarding public charge and the affidavit of support.
Toolkit & Reports
Resources
Publication Date
02/25/2022
This toolkit is designed to assist education and outreach workers presenting public charge information to immigrant community members. Some of the materials in the toolkit have a California focus or include California-specific details, but all materials remain useful for a national audience. Our goal is to spread accurate information about what public charge is and who is impacted by it, to help reverse the chilling effect from the Trump public charge rule which is no longer in effect.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
09/27/2021
Contact tracing is a public health program that helps slow the spread of infectious diseases, like COVID-19 (coronavirus). Because COVID-19 is very contagious, many states have implemented contact tracing programs to protect communities from the virus. California launched California Connected, its contact tracing program, in May 2020. This resource, which describes the California Connected program in Q&A format, highlights issues of interest to the immigrant community, including the language competency of contact tracers, the confidentiality of shared personal information, and public charge considerations.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
05/24/2021
This handout provides a list of some of the most common public benefits programs that do not count for public charge. Whether or not public charge applies to you and no matter your immigration status, the programs on this list are safe to use.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
05/04/2021
This new handout, written for youth and families with questions about the “public charge” rule, provides an overview of public charge and answers common questions about its application.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
10/21/2021
This sample community meeting PowerPoint slide deck can be used to help education and outreach workers present information about public charge to community members. The PowerPoint slides are notated with what you can say as you present. We also include Sample Audience Questions and Answers that education and outreach workers can use when responding to questions from community members about public charge.
FAQs & Explainers
Resources
Publication Date
09/10/2021
In 2020 and 2021, the ILRC generated three distinct social media pushes on public charge and four “breaking news” graphics to educate the immigrant community on policy developments and related issues. In this resource, we share information on those pushes and links to the graphics on Instagram as inspiration for social media posts other organizations or advocates may wish to share or create, depending on their audience.
Public Charge Safe to Use List
This resource lists some of the most common public benefits programs that do not count for public charge, no matter your immigration status.
Related Products
Webinar
Webinar
Date and Time: 02/02/2023 11:00am to 12:30pm PST
Recorded Date: 02/02/2023
Place: Online
Registration Deadline: Thursday, February 2, 2023 - 11:00am
Presenter: Erin Quinn Ariel Brown
MCLE: 1.5 CA & TX
Recorded Date: 02/02/2023
Place: Online
Registration Deadline: Thursday, February 2, 2023 - 11:00am
Presenter: Erin Quinn Ariel Brown
MCLE: 1.5 CA & TX
Webinar
Webinar
LPRs are often worried about how public charge might impact them or their family members. Importantly, there is no public charge test to naturalize. Nonetheless, LPRs seek guidance about travel, petitioning family members, and possible grounds for deportation. Log in to this webinar to give the best advice to LPRs around these critical questions. This webinar will assume basic knowledge of the public charge rule.
Video
Video
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, federal, state, and local governments are creating relief programs to provide services and resources to community members facing health and financial challenges. However, due in part to the overlapping timeline of coronavirus and the implementation of new public charge rules, many immigrant community members are fearful of utilizing available relief programs. In this 60-minute webinar, we will provide a brief overview of public charge, share policy updates on public charge topics, and discuss various emerging public charge issues related to COVID-19. The webinar will provide an overview of various relief programs, explain how use of those programs could trigger public charge consequences, and discuss how to distinguish benefits programs that immigrants might access because of financial hardship stemming from COVID-19 from COVID-19 emergency programs insofar as public charge ramifications. Note: this will be a California-focused webinar.
Publication
Publication
“Public charge” is a ground of inadmissibility that could bar an individual’s admission to the United States on a visa or application for lawful permanent residence if the government determines the individual is likely to rely on certain public benefits in the future.
Webinar
Webinar
President-Elect Biden has identified reversing the new public charge rule as a priority in his first 100 days in office. This webinar will provide an update on the current status of changes to public charge, including pending legal challenges, public charge adjudication across agencies, and the next administration's plans with regards to the new public charge inadmissibility rule. The webinar assumes some knowledge of inadmissibility and background on public charge.
Webinar
Webinar
This webinar will review public charge law and policy in effect at the time of this webinar as well as current affidavit of support requirements and process such as who is required to submit Form I-864, who is exempt and how to indicate this, various ways to meet the financial requirements, and how the affidavit of support relates to the public charge inadmissibility determination.