New regulation would exclude federal student
financial aid in the effort to judge whether a foreigner is likely to
use public benefits
The Trump administration has finalized its plan
to overhaul how the government evaluates whether an individual from
another country, either already in the United States or seeking to come
here, is “not likely to be a public charge”—that is, not likely to use
public benefits such as food stamps or Medicaid, a requirement of many
visa categories and green card applications. The new regulation will go
into effect in 60 days.
The rule requires an extended investigation
into a person’s history and job prospects and gives wide-ranging
discretion to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to
reject an application for admission or for an extension or change of
status, as well as reject applications from non-immigrants, those not
seeking permanent resident status, such as international students
seeking student visas.
At issue is how the government looks at
public benefits a non-immigrant has already used or is likely to use.
While only cash benefits are considered right now, the new approach will
include Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), Section 8, and other housing
benefits.
Title IV federal student financial aid is excluded, as ACE and 31 other higher education associations requested in comments on
the proposed rule submitted in December. The groups were concerned that
including financial aid as a benefit would have a chilling effect on
first-generation U.S. students seeking a postsecondary education.
As the preamble to the rule states, “The
focus of the rule is public benefits programs that provide cash
assistance for income maintenance or support food nutrition, housing and
healthcare with a relatively high overall expenditure. Pell grants and
student aid programs are education-based and DHS (Department of Homeland
Security) is not considering them in the public charge inadmissibility
determination. DHS decided to not include a list of those benefits that
are not considered for public charge purposes because they are too
numerous and benefits programs may change over time.”
The groups also asked for F-1 and J-1 student
and exchange visitors to be excluded in the final rule, believing their
inclusion would create further delays in visa processing and discourage
international students and scholars from coming to the United States.
The final rule does not apply to initial
international student visa applications. However, it does require these
individuals to demonstrate they have not made extensive use of public
benefits if they wish to extend or change their visa status after they
arrive.