FEDERAL PUBLIC CHARGE

UPDATED AS OF September 2026

The public charge rule is legally a ground of “inadmissibility.” Immigrants who apply for a visa or green card to enter the U.S. must pass a “public charge” test, to determine whether a person is likely to be dependent on the federal government in the future. The test considers a totality of circumstances, as well as an Affidavit of Support to make this decision. As of now, the benefits considered for this test include only cash assistance for income maintenance (SSI, TANF, etc) or Government funded long-term institutional care (not short-term rehab or home- and community-based services. Most immigrants aren’t even eligible for these kind of benefits.

On September 18, 2026, the new charge rule took effect. The public charge inadmissibility test applies when a person applies for a green card or for a visa. Many immigrants are exempt from public charge by laws that cannot be changed by regulations. The new rule grants discretion to federal immigration officers to ask immigrants questions about present and prior use of benefits, in order to determine whether a patient is likely to become a public charge. Neither the final rule nor the published guidance includes a comprehensive list of specific programs that can – or cannot – be considered in determining whether a noncitizen is likely to become a public charge. This removes the clarity that had been provided by the previous rule, which was consistent with decades of agency practice and policy.

The good news:

The new public charge rule only applies to immigrants applying for a green card, who are adjusting status via a family-based pathway or certain employment based pathways. It doesn’t apply to asylum seekers, refugees and other humanitarian statuses. It doesn’t apply to greencard holders applying for citizenship.

For more information:

Visit https://pifcoalition.org/toolkits/public-charge-regulation/ for the most up to date information.

What should we tell our immigrant patients and clients? Nothing has changed yet

  1. Don’t panic.

  2. If you are applying for a green card, talk to your attorney.

  3. If you are not applying for a green card, then dropping benefits may not help you. The “chilling effect” (fear about the public charge rule) caused more harm than the rule itself. If policies change, listen to trusted organizations like the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition or an immigration attorney when making decisions about benefits.

    • When the public charge rule was implemented in 2021, millions of immigrants across the country dropped benefits. The public charge rule doesn’t impact people who aren’t applying for a visa or greencard, but many immigrants dropped benefits anyway. People also dropped benefits that weren’t mentioned in the rule, out of fear. For example, state health programs were not impacted, Wic, school lunches, food banks and more.

Public Charge Resources

MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY

We are very excited about the PROTECT Act Victory. For more information about the PROTECT Act, see the Massachusetts government website: https://www.mass.gov/protecting-people-from-ice

More resources about other legislative priorities are forthcoming.

SAFE COMMUNITIES ACT - which culminated in the passage of the PROTECT act

HLISN is part of the Safe Communities Act Coalition. Below are photos from the Safe Communities Act hearing at the Massachusetts Statehouse in January 2020.

COVER ALL KIDS ACT

This bill closes the gaps in coverage and ensures that all children in Massachusetts can access healthcare services, regardless of immigration status.

Visit https://hcfama.org/policy_campaigns/cover-all-kids/ for more information.

PROVIDING STABILITY FOR CHILDREN IN TIMES OF CHANGE: AN ACT RELATIVE TO CAREGIVER AUTHORIZATION AFFIDAVITS

Current Gaps and Limitations

Many local health centers and community organizations have encouraged immigrants to complete temporary Caregiver Affidavits (G.L.c. 201F, §§1- 6) so that families have a plan in place for who can legally manage healthcare and educational matters for their children if the parents are unexpectedly detained or deported.

“But while the concept of the caregiver affidavit is valuable, its usefulness is limited under existing law. Currently, a caregiver affidavit goes into effect as soon as it is signed and expires after two years, and the authority given is limited to healthcare and educational decisions. The law also appears to require that the appointed person already be residing in the home with the child. That approach is helpful for planned absences in situations in which the child already has a live-in caregiver such as a nanny, but it does not provide coverage when a parent’s absence is unplanned — like for emergency treatment to address substance use or mental health problems, or for arrest, incarceration, detention, or deportation.”

Source: Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly

Legislative Solution

This bill updates and modernizes existing law to give families a straightforward way to designate who will care for their children when they are temporarily absent from the home or otherwise unavailable. H.3445 would make the existing statute more flexible and more comprehensive. It clarifies the authority of caregivers to deal with daycare providers, enroll children in sports and other after school activities, etc. It also allows families to prepare affidavits which will "spring" into effect, just as a springing power of attorney would, if the parent is called into active military service, hospitalized, incarcerated, detained, deported, or otherwise required to be absent from home and children for some period of time.