You may not have to worry about public charge. It does NOT apply to: 

• U.S. citizens and individuals applying for citizenship. 
• Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), including conditional residents, unless they:  
  • Travel abroad and have been outside the United States for more than 180 days; or 
  • Travel abroad and have certain criminal convictions or other circumstances described in Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 101(a)(13)(C). 
• Immigrants with a nonimmigrant visa who do not plan to apply for a green card or change/extend their nonimmigrant status. 
• Refugees and asylees. 
• Individuals seeking cancellation of removal. 
• Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs). 
• Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, including qualifying Afghan and Iraqi nationals. 
• Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners and applicants. 
• U visa applicants and holders. 
• T visa applicants and holders. 
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) holders. 
• Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders. 
• Individuals adjusting status under:
  • The Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA);
  • The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA)
  • The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA); or 
  • The Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (LRIFA). 

You may be subject to public charge if you are: 

• Applying for lawful permanent residence (a “green card”) through: 
  • A family member; 
  • An employer; or  
  • The diversity visa lottery. 
• A green card holder returning to the United States from a trip abroad if you: 
  • stayed outside the country for more than 180 consecutive days; and/or 
  • have certain criminal convictions or other grounds listed in INA § 101(a)(13)(C).
• Applying to change or extend a nonimmigrant visa, unless the visa category is exempt from the public charge rule.

This tool may be helpful in determining whether public charge applies to you. It is available in English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese.

“Public charge” is an immigration rule generally used to determine whether an individual will be unable to financially support themselves in the future. While it primarily applies to certain immigrants applying for a green card, it can also apply to those changing, extending, or re- entering under certain immigration statuses. If you are found to be a public charge, your application may be denied.

Historically, immigration officials have only considered whether someone has received cash assistance or long-term institutional care paid for by Medicaid, and very few people have been denied a green card on public charge grounds. The 2022 public charge regulations followed this approach.

The new public charge rule eliminates those 2022 regulations but does not replace them with new regulations. Instead, DHS will be issuing guidance that will supposedly give officers direction on how to determine if someone is a public charge, including how to consider the receipt of means-tested public benefits.

Because the guidance has not been issued, it remains unclear exactly how officers will apply the new rule. However, unlike the 2022 regulations, the new rule says that forthcoming guidance will direct officers to consider the receipt of any means-tested public benefit, rather than just cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutional care paid for by Medicaid.

Yes. Many noncitizens are eligible for a variety of public benefits and can legally receive them without negative immigration consequences. To learn about which categories of noncitizens are eligible for which benefits in New York State, you can consult this chart.  

Public benefits provide critical support for food, housing, health care, and other essential supports to help families stay safe and healthy during financial hardship.  

Receiving public benefits has never automatically made someone a public charge.

Until we see DHS’s forthcoming guidance, we will not know for certain which benefits will be considered when the rule goes into effect on September 18, 2026. The guidance will likely instruct officers to consider the receipt of any “means-tested” public benefit. “Means-tested” public benefits are government programs available to individuals and families with low incomes or limited financial resources. 

The new rule says that the forthcoming guidance will indicate that the receipt of means-tested benefits before September 18, 2026 will not be considered.

The only exceptions are cash assistance and long-term institutional care paid for by Medicaid since those have always been considered.

Under current regulations, which remain in effect until September 18, 2026, public benefits received by a family member do not count against you in a public charge determination. The new rule eliminated this protection.  

However, the federal government has not yet issued guidance explaining how the new rule will work. The new rule says that the future guidance will allow immigration officers to consider means-tested benefits received by the dependents of the person subject to public charge. For example, public benefits received by a U.S. citizen child could be considered in a parent’s public charge determination if the child’s eligibility for those benefits is based on the parent’s income and resources. 

We will not know for certain until we see DHS’s forthcoming guidance.  

Under the INA, DHS must consider your age; health; family status; assets, resources, and financial status; and education and skills, together with an affidavit of support. DHS indicates in the new rule that officers will be permitted to consider any factor they deem relevant, consistent with the future guidance.  

The new rule states that Form I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status (green card) filed before September 18, 2026, will be decided under the 2022 regulations. While we need to review the future guidance, the safest approach may be to file I-485 applications before September 18, 2026.

​​You should not stop receiving public benefits or decline benefits for which you are eligible until you first determine whether the public charge rule applies to you. Even if the rule does apply to you, speak with an immigration professional before disenrolling from benefits.

This resource has been translated and is available for download in Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish.

The information in this document has been prepared by The Legal Aid Society for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. You should not act upon any information without retaining professional legal counsel.​