NILC Initiates Public Charge Monitoring Project

IMMIGRANTS & PUBLIC BENEFITS

Public Charge

NILC initiates public charge monitoring project
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 15, No. 6, Oct. 8, 2001

The National Immigration Law Center has started a project to monitor possible abuses of public charge rules by the Immigration Naturalization Service, immigration judges, and State Dept. employees. Individuals who may have been improperly denied admission to the U.S. or a green card are encouraged to use the Public Charge Monitoring form enclosed with this issue to report their experiences to NILC. The form is also available for downloading from this web site as Word document.

Public charge is an immigration law term used to describe persons who depend primarily on the government for their support. A public charge finding can adversely affect individuals' ability to immigrate to the U.S. or to obtain a green card. In May 1999, the INS issued guidance clarifying that immigrants' use of health care and other non-cash benefits will normally not put them at risk of being considered a public charge. Nonetheless, rumors in immigrant communities persist that INS officers, IJs, and consular officials are asking immigrants about the use of benefits and using that information to deny entry to the U.S. or applications for green cards.

The information gathered by the monitoring project will be used to determine the scope of the problem and to develop a response. Individuals interested in additional information about the project should contact NILC staff attorney Sara Campos at 510-663-8282, ext. 304.