Does Public Charge Apply to Green Card Holders?

No matter if you know what public charge is or not, you know it won’t look very good on your file. For example, if you want to get a work visa in the United States, the public charge might affect your success. But does public charge apply to green card holders? You already proved you earned your stay – so, can it still apply to you in the future? This article should help clear some of these questions.

What Is the Public Charge Rule?

To put it quite simply, “public charge” is a term that USCIS uses to determine whether or not you are eligible for entering the United States. Think of it as a kind of test upon entering the U.S.: if they believe that you are inadmissible and will turn out to be a liability for the country, then the public charge rule will prevent you from going any further.

This concept was originally established in 1882 by the Congress, allowing the government of the United States to deny a visa for people likely to “become a public charge” at any moment. The term is still rather vague and may be open for interpretation, and subject to changes. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, several aspects may have been changed in light of the situation.

Who Does the Public Charge Rule Apply to?

The public charge rule will generally apply to immigrants that are likely to receive financial aid from the government. The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) considers the following things in a person’s file when conducting a public charge test:

• Supplemental nutrition programs such as food stamps, EBT, or SNAP
• Medicaid (except for when it comes to emergency medical services, new mothers, pregnant women, and children that are under the age of 21.
• Federal public housing along with those who have been deemed eligible for Section 8 assistance.
• Cash assistance programs such as General Assistance, TANF, or SSI.

Generally speaking, people that have been granted those benefits will likely be counted as a public charge. Benefits that are not listed in the above will not be counted (e.g. WIC, school lunches, and so on).

That being said, the list of people that are not affected by the public charge rule is quite broad. In most cases, the following types of visas may be affected by the public charge rule:

• Those that are filing for an I-480 (green card)
• Various types of immigrant and non-immigrant visas (spouse visa included)
• Those that are trying to extend or renew their non-immigrant visas
• Green card holders that have left the United States for more than 6 months

If you are planning to leave the United States under these conditions, then you might want to discuss matters first with your immigration attorney. They will tell you precisely what steps you are supposed to follow there.

Does the Public Charge Rule Apply to Green Card Holders?

If you or a member of your family is a citizen of the United States, then these charges don’t apply to you. You are free to enroll in any other program that you are eligible for, as you will not be affected in any way.

Similarly, if you have a green card, the public charge under the new rule won’t affect you in any way. You may renew your green card or even apply for U.S. citizenship without any issues. Applying for naturalization will not cause any issues either, as you will not be affected by the public charge.

That being said, you may want to be very careful if you plan on leaving the United States for more than six months. By doing so, it will be considered “abandonment of residence,” and you will risk not being granted entrance. When you return, you might not be able to pass the public charge test.

In essence, as long as you spent most of your time in the United States and have not left for more than 6 months, then you should not have an issue with the public charge. Green card holders should indeed be aware of the risks of using public benefits, but at the same time, their concerns are smaller in comparison to those that have not yet become permanent residents.

At the same time, you should be careful about any felonies that you might have committed before entering the U.S. A simple DUI might not affect your entrance and might not make you be seen as a public charge, but others might. This is why you need to carefully discuss with your attorney before any trip, in the case that you have been convicted or obtained certain benefits.

Public Charge Rule and Re-Entry for Green Card Holders

As a permanent resident, you may know that in order to obtain your green card, you had to prove that you weren’t inadmissible – a liability to the United States. You had to prove that you didn’t have a health condition that would put the people of the United States in danger, that you did not have any criminal convictions, that you aren’t likely to become a public charge, and so on.

Holding a green card, you may think that you are no longer subjected to the public charge rule upon re-entering the country – but here is where you are wrong. Depending on the circumstances, these grounds of inadmissibility may once more be applied to you when re-entering the United States. These circumstances may be found in the Immigration and Nationality Act, and they include circumstances where the green card holder has:

• Been absent from the United States for more than 180 days in a row.
• Relinquished or abandoned your status as a permanent resident of the U.S.
• Left the United States during extradition or removal proceedings
• Engaged in activities that were illegal after leaving the U.S.
• Committed crimes such as moral turpitude, drug trafficking, money laundering, etc. and was not granted relief.
• Attempted to re-enter at a place or a time that was not set by the immigration officer.

As mentioned, as a green card holder, you will not be affected upon re-entering the United States in a way that a visa holder would. If your criminal record contains violations other than a DUI conviction (those generally pass), you might want to reconsider leaving the United States. Consult an immigration attorney first, so that you may have the matter resolved and not be faced with a public charge.

There is also a chance that upon re-entry, you might have been deemed admissible, but also deportable. Certain crimes might allow temporary entry into the country, but you will be sent to the Immigration Court for removal. It is necessary that in these circumstances, you contact an immigration attorney.

Wrap Up

So, does public charge apply to green card holders? To put it simply, as long as you are one that respects the law and does not miss their “deadlines,” there should not be any reason why public charge would affect you. At this point, you have proven that you are worthy of being in the United States, so even receiving benefits from the US government should not affect you. However, to be safe, you might want to discuss with your immigration officer before leaving.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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