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- Understanding the Importance of Tenancy by the Entirety in Indiana for Homeowners
- Upgrading a Pending NIW to Premium Processing: A Step-by-Step Guide
- National Interest Waiver: Advanced Degree Requirement and Relevant Documentation
- Self Petition for L1 Visa of Sole Proprietorship
- L1 Visa – US Intra Company Transferee Visa
- Waiver of Inadmissibility : Extreme Hardship Standards
- Importance of have a Will prepared from an Immigrant’s perspective
- Employment-Based Green Card Priority Date Retrogression
- The Importance of Time Frame in National Interest Waiver Applications
- Update on DED for Hong Kong as of May 3, 2023
- H1b and NIW Application
- What is extreme hardship waiver?
- List of TPS designated countries currently open to registration as of April 2023
- Removal of 60 days rule for I-693 (Medical Examination Report)
- Temporary Increasing of EAD automatic extension for 540 days
- Retrogression of Priority Dates
- Parole Program for International Entrepreneur
- Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans
- Residence Abroad Requirement for F1 and M1 visa application
- Is it alright to receive Covid-19 benefits in terms of Public Charge?
- What is good and bad under the new Public Charge Rule
- CDC Requirements for Immigrant Medical Examinations
- Categories allowed for automatic extension of 180 days for EAD
- Don’t want to deal with PERM? Let’s talk about NIW Green Card!
Is it alright to receive Covid-19 benefits in terms of Public Charge?
June 9, 2022
This is one of the questions most frequently asked by many
during the Pandemic times.
USCIS has officially issued a memorandum to eliminate the
ambiguity surrounding Public Charge Rule and Covid-19 benefits.
Q2: What about other COVID-19 public benefits, such as for food,
housing, cash assistance, rental assistance, tax credits,
stimulus payments, unemployment, financial aid grants to
students, Paycheck Protection Program, and student loan
forbearance? *
A2: We do not consider public benefits specifically related to
COVID-19 because they generally fall under either noncash
benefits or special-purpose cash benefits not considered under
the 1999 Interim Field Guidance. We consider only those benefits
listed in the 1999 Interim Field Guidance, such as cash
assistance for income maintenance (for example, SSI and TANF)
and General Assistance (in other words, cash assistance provided
by states or localities), as well long-term institutionalization
provided at a government’s expense.
The 1999 Interim Field Guidance acknowledges that states have
flexibility in administering the TANF program and may choose to
provide noncash assistance such as subsidized childcare or
transportation vouchers in addition to cash assistance. It
indicates that such noncash benefits should not be considered
for public charge purposes. It also indicates that states may
also provide nonrecurrent cash payments for specific crisis
situations under TANF. These payments should not be considered
for public charge purposes under the 1999 Interim Field Guidance
because they are not cash for income maintenance.
While the 1999 Interim Field Guidance does not provide a
comprehensive list of benefits that we do not consider, cash
assistance related to COVID-19 is like disaster assistance or
crisis-based cash TANF, and therefore, we consider such is
special-purpose cash assistance that is not cash assistance for
income maintenance. Therefore, we do not consider it in public
charge determinations. Also, under the 1999 Interim Field
Guidance, we do not consider noncash benefits (except those
supporting noncitizens receiving long-term institutional care).
Therefore, we do not consider COVID-19 related food/nutrition
assistance, housing assistance, tax credits, student loan
forbearance, and the like, in making a public charge
inadmissibility determination.