Receiving some public welfare will no longer affect the acquisition of a US green card
Trump During his administration, a "public burden" rule was introduced to restrict immigrants applying for public welfare from obtaining US green cards. Just last Thursday, The U.S. Homeland Security Bureau announced the cancellation of this rule, Therefore, foreigners who receive cash benefits such as white cards and food stamps do not need to worry about being included in the "public burden" category when applying for green cards.
The new regulations will come into effect on December 23, 2022, revoking the "public burden" standard expanded during the Trump era and returning to the previous narrow "public burden" policy.
What is a public burden?
The term "public burden" is a long-standing concept in immigration law. Under Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), non-citizens will be prohibited from entering if they “can be a public burden at any time”. However, no law has formally defined "public burden".
019 during Trump's administration, the Department of Homeland Security expanded the definition of "public burden" to include immigrants who enjoy one or more designated public benefits for more than 12 months within 36 months.
According to the regulations at the time, if immigrants have or are expected to receive food assistance, Medicaid , housing assistance or other public benefits, they may be deprived of permanent resident status.
Who will be affected by the public burden rules?
- In the United States, people applying for green card status through family members, employers or through diversified visa draws.
- who already has a green card but seeks to re-enter the United States after traveling abroad (a) have been for more than 180 days in a row, or (b) have certain criminal convictions (or both).
- people who apply for changes or extension of non-immigrant visa .
Old rules were cancelled, new rules changed After the Biden administration took office, it stopped defending the Trump-era rules in the lawsuit and stopped implementing the rules in March 2021. Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas said: "The public welfare rules in 2019 are inconsistent with our country's values." According to the final provisions announced by the Department of Homeland Security last Thursday, the factors for judgment of "public burden" include the age, health and financial status, education and skills of non-citizens required in the Nationality Law .
At the same time, if required, green card applicants must submit I-864 economic guarantee form, former or current social security income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and cash benefits programs (usually referred to as “general assistance”) for state, tribe, territorial or local maintenance income or cash income obtained from long-term government-funded institutions.
New regulations remove the content about white cards and food stamps in the "public burden".
Xavier Becerra, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said: "People who qualify for Medicaid, Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and other health plans should receive the care they need without worrying about endangering their immigration status."
Jorge, general manager of the American Immigration Council program, program manager, Jorge Loweree said: "The United States does the best in fully accepting immigrants from all walks of life, not just privileged immigrants. Stigmatizing new immigrants on the grounds of low income ignores the fact that immigrants need time to take root in this country. The data is clear that immigration is the ‘net income’ of this country, even if they start from the bottom and climb up step by step.”
Non-citizen STEM professionals working in the United States
Recently, U.S. Immigration Bureau released a document titled "Options for Noncitizen STEM Professionals to Work in the United States (Options for Noncitizen STEM Professionals to Work in the United States The file "States)" explains various ways to work in the United States, and directly gives the Chinese version of the file.
related link:
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/web-content/STEM%20Visa%20Guide%20-%20Landing %20Page%20New%20Doc_CHI.pdf
Some temporary and permanent ways for non-US citizens to work in the STEM field in the United States are outlined in the file:
Non-immigration (temporary) pathway
Details:
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/web-content/STEM%20Visa%20Guide%20-%20Nonimmigrant%20Pathways%20Webpage_CHI.pdf
Immigration (permanent) pathways
htt ml19
Specific information can be viewed:
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/web-content/STEM%20Visa%20Guide%20-%20Immigrant%20Pathways%20Webpage_CHI.pdf
file points out that some opportunities provide the basis for individuals, including STEM professionals, to obtain permanent resident status in the United States. Permanent Residence allows you to live and work permanently in the United States and usually provides you with a path to citizenship. These opportunities are called “immigration” pathways.
Other pathways (e.g., F-1 OPT, H-1B, L-1, and O-1) are also known as the "non-immigrant" pathways, allowing you to temporarily live and work in the United States. Many people who work through one of these non-immigrant pathways eventually transition to the permanent resident pathway and eventually become U.S. citizens.
However, it is very difficult for to transition to permanent residence through the "non-immigration" channel and eventually become a US citizen!
For example, the most common way to convert a study abroad visa to a green card: F1–OPT–H-1B–green card. Many people are stuck at the H-1B step that needs to "collide the fortune". It is becoming more and more difficult for Chinese students to stay in the United States through the H-1B draw!
At the end of March this year, the US Immigration Bureau conducted the first round of draws for this year's H-1B, drawing 127,600 lucky people from 483,927 applications, which is much larger than the quota of 85,000.
The students who did not win the first round of lottery draw were still waiting for the second and third rounds of lottery draws like in previous years. However, on August 23, the US Immigration Bureau announced that the H-1B draw in the 2023 fiscal year has reached the upper limit of 85,000 copies, and the Immigration Bureau will no longer conduct multiple rounds of lottery draws!
Let’s look at the number of applications in previous years:
All Indian beneficiaries approved for H-1B visa (including applications that require lottery draws due to quota restrictions and applications that do not apply to quota restrictions) dominate 70%, reaching 74.1%, , while Chinese nationals account for only 12.4% in total! It is conceivable that with the surge in application volume this year, the situation of Chinese applicants winning the lottery may not be optimistic.
Based on this data, the situation of Chinese applicants winning the lottery this year may still be not optimistic. Therefore, if you want to "study in the United States", it is most reliable to obtain your identity through immigration in advance.
