On February 24, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule, which amended the process that the Department of Homeland Security uses to determine if someone applying for citizenship or a change in their citizenship status is likely to become a public charge. The final rule specifies that non-citizens who are likely to become a public charge are inadmissible to the United States and ineligible to become lawful permanent residents. Additionally, the final rule defines “public charge” as a non-citizen who has received one or more public benefits for more than 12 months in any 36-month period and includes Medicaid coverage in the definition of public benefits. Immigrant rights groups and Medicaid advocates have criticized the final rule for deterring immigrants from seeking health care, which could accelerate the spread of coronavirus.
On March 13, 2020, USCIS announced that obtaining testing, medical treatment or preventive services in response to coronavirus, including vaccination against coronavirus once a vaccine becomes available, will not negatively affect any non-citizen as part of any future public charge analysis regarding their eligibility to be admitted to the United States. USCIS specified that this exception will apply even if treatment is provided or paid for by one or more public health programs, such as Medicaid. Additionally, the announcement encouraged both citizens and non-citizens to seek medical care if they are experiencing symptoms of Coronavirus Disease 2019, which include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. USCIS also announced that it will allow non-citizens subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility and who live and work in an area where disease prevention methods are in place to submit a statement with their application for adjustment of status to explain how the disease prevention methods have affected them as related to the factors considered during a USCIS public charge inadmissibility determination. For example, if a non-citizen is unable to work because of disease prevention efforts and they are subsequently forced to rely on public benefits for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak, the non-citizen will be allowed to submit an explanation and supporting documentation. USCIS will consider this information with the totality of the non-citizen’s circumstances when conducting a public charge inadmissibility determination.
This temporary exception to the public charge inadmissibility criteria will hopefully persuade non-citizens to seek necessary care during the coronavirus pandemic, which will help slow the spread of the virus. The flexibility provided by USCIS will be critical, as one-in-five adults from low-income immigrant families expressed fear of enrolling in public benefit programs because it could jeopardize their chances of receiving a green card. Further, immigrants have begun disenrolling from Medicaid coverage at the end of February after the public charge rule was implemented, which occurred shortly after the first confirmed coronavirus case was detected in the United States on January 20, 2020.
Last Updated on May 18, 2020 by Aimed Alliance
