A blog about U.S. immigration matters by Paul Szeto, a former INS attorney and an experienced immigration lawyer. We serve clients in all U.S. states and overseas countries. (All information is not legal advice and is subject to change without prior notice.)

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Monday, August 10, 2020

Dept. of State Complies with Public Charge Rule Injunction



The Department of State (DOS) announced that it is changing its policies following the nationwide injunctions on the public charge rule. DOS processes immigrant visa petitions filed in overseas countries.  To comply with the court injunction orders, DOS no longer requires applicants to complete DS-5540 Public Charge Questionnaire. The Department will also update its internal policy in this regard.


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Meanwhile, if an application appears to be ineligible on public charge grounds, visa officers will stop administrative processing of the visa petition, and consult and review with DOS to make sure that any decision does not violate the court order.  

While this is good news, green card applicants must understand that the public charge rule and the public charge ground of inadmissibility are not the same thing. They are still subject to the ground of inadmissibility, which has been in the immigration statutes for many years. 


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