Use our materials and resources to help you assist families enrolling in Public Benefits! Materials available include customizable flyers, answers to FAQs in video and written form, and training for enrollment assisters.
We created the flyers below to help inform Texas families that it is safe to get the benefits they need! You can request printed copies of these materials or customize them below.
Public charge is a term in immigration law that describes a person who is primarily dependent on the government for support.
Some people who apply for lawful permanent residence or an immigrant visa to enter the U.S. must pass a “public charge” test, which looks at whether the person is likely to use certain government services in the future.
As part of this test, the immigration officer will consider the immigrant's:
Health
Age
Income/resources
Education and skills
Family support and sponsor
Public Charge Test: Use of certain public benefits (Public Charge Rule)
The immigration officer weighs all the factors above to decide if the person is "likely to become a Public Charge.” However, immigration officers will weigh favorably an Affidavit of Support that meets the income and assets requirements.
It’s Important to Know: Most public benefits are NOT considered in the public charge determination and WILL NOT IMPACT the application for immigration status.
Most public benefits DO NOT affect a person's application for immigration status.
The following benefits ARE NOT CONSIDERED in a public charge test:
A child’s or other family member’s use of federal safety net programs never affects the applicant’s immigration application.
Nutrition and housing assistance programs including SNAP, WIC, School meals, Section 8, and Public Housing;
Cash payments for a specific purpose like home energy assistance or childcare;
Emergency disaster relief, including pandemic and COVID-19 assistance such as COVID-19 testing, treatment, vaccines, economic impact payment checks (stimulus checks), one-time financial assistance, and food programs like P-EBT;
Community-based services like food banks, shelters, and financial assistance regardless of the source of funding;
Medicaid and other health care programs are only considered if the government is paying for long-term care, like in a nursing home;
“Earned” benefits like Social Security, retirement, and veteran’s benefits.
The following benefits MAY BE CONSIDERED in a public charge test for people who live in Texas:*
Cash assistance that is intended to pay for ongoing living expenses, like SSI or TANF; and
Long-term institutional care paid for by Medicaid or another government program.**
*Most immigrants who face a Public Charge test are not eligible for the benefits that are considered in this test. For more information, talk to a legal aid lawyer. Need help? Find Immigration Assistance and Legal Aid resources here!
**If you have used these specific programs in the past, you still have a chance to show that you are not likely to become a public charge in the future. Immigration officials must look at all of your circumstances when they review your green card or visa application.
Public Charge DOES apply to:
Immigrants applying for Lawful Permanent Residence (Green Card) through a family-based petition
Lawful Permanent Residents who leave the U.S. for more than 6 months and seek to re-enter the U.S.
A slightly different rule applies to some "non-immigrants" applying to change or extend their student visas (example: student visas).
Public Charge DOES NOT apply to:
U.S. Citizens
Lawful Permanent Residents (Green Card holders) applying for citizenship or green card renewals
Refugees applying to change status to Lawful Permanent Residents.
Asylees applying to change status to Lawful Permanent Residents.
TPS: people applying for initial or re-registration of Temporary Protected Status
DACA: people applying to renew Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
SIJS: children applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status or applying for a Green Card after having been approved for SIJS
U Visa: people applying for a U visa or U visa holders applying for a Green Card
T Visa: people applying for a T visa and T visa holders applying for a Green Card
VAWA: people self-petition for immigration relief under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and people with VAWA who are applying for a Green Card
People applying for withholding of removal or under the Convention Against Torture
Cubans applying under the Cuban Adjustment Act;
Amerasians who are applying for admission
SIV: Afghan and Iraqi interpreters and translators who are applying for special immigrant visas
Registry: People applying for registry (lived in the U.S. since January 1, 1972)
NACARA: People applying for green card under Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act
HRIFA: People applying for green card under Haitian Relief and Immigrant Fairness Act (HRIFA)
Lautenberg parolees - individuals from the former Soviet Union, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos who were paroled into the U.S. and are applying for green cards
Certain other "humanitarian" immigrants
You can lead families to the following official sources:
Final Rule: Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility (Sept 2022)
Joint Letter on Public Charge: U.S. Dept of Agriculture and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (Jan 2022)
Public Charge Interagency Letter: Department of Homeland Security (Nov 2021)
Press Statement on Public Charge: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (July 2021)
Use the information in this video to help families make the best decisions about using public programs.
We held a Public Charge training for enrollment assisters. Watch it and access the training slides below!
View this module to meet training speakers and review the training agenda.
Watch this presentation to understand the Public Charge Rule, as well as the most recent developments. This portion of the training was led by Gabrielle Lessard from the National Immigration Law Center.
Watch this presentation to understand the Public Charge Rule, as well as the most recent developments. This portion of the training was led by Gabrielle Lessard from the National Immigration Law Center.
Practice speaking with your clients about public charge with these role play scenarios, inspired by real life assister-client scenarios.