public charge form I-944 needed from february 24, 2020

From February 24, 2020, almost all Adjustment of Status applicants will need to include a Form I-944 with their I-485 filings. This form results from changes to the public charge analysis. The forms were initially scheduled to take effect last year, but implementation was halted by court injunction.  The US Supreme Court recently lifted thos injuctions (except in Illinois), so the change takes effect soon.

The following categories are exempt from the public charge requirements and therefore do not need to file the I-944:

• VAWA self-petitioner.
• Special Immigrant Juveniles.
• Certain Afghan or Iraqi nationals.
• Asylees and refugees.
• U and T visa applicants.
• Cuban Adjustment Act applicants.
• Applicants under the Haitian Refugee Immigrant Fairness Act, Indochinese Parole Adjustment Act, Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), and Amerasian Homecoming Act
• Lautenberg Parolees, Polish or Hungarian Parolees, certain American Indians.
• Spouse, child, or parent of a deceased soldier under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

For everyone other than these exempt categories, the following rules apply to Adjustment of Status applicants: 

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You must file an I-944 and an I-864 (Affidavit of Support) if you are an

1. Immediate relative (spouse of a U.S. citizen, parent of a 21+ year old U.S. citizen, or unmarried child under 21 years of age of a U.S. citizen).
2. Other relative of a U.S. citizen or relative of a lawful permanent resident under the family-based preference categories.
3. Person admitted to the United States as a K-1 nonimmigrant fiancé(e) or K-2 nonimmigrant child of a fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen.
4. Alien worker under the employment-based preference categories ONLY if a specific relative filed Form I-140 for you or has a five percent or more ownership interest in the business that filed Form I-140 for you. See I-485 instructions, p.13, for details.

You file just an I-944 if you are a

1. Widow or widower of a U.S. citizen.
2. Alien worker under the employment-based preference categories (other than as listed at #4 above).
3. Alien entrepreneur (EB-5).
4. Diplomat or high ranking official unable to return home (Section 13 of the Act of September 11, 1957).
5. S nonimmigrant and qualifying family member.
6. Diversity Visa applicant.
7. Special Immigrant such as a member of certain U.S. armed forces; Panama Canal Zone employee; broadcaster; G-4 or NATO-6 employee and family members; international employee of the U.S. Government abroad; religious workers; certain physicians; 
8. Applicants adjusting under the Amerasian Act (October 22, 1982).

The public charge rules are complex and the new Form I-944 is very detailed and requests extensive information about the applicant's income, tax filings, language and other skills, assets, receipt of public benefits, etc. More information on the public charge rule is in this YouTube video and a demonstration of the Form I-944 is in  this video.

We expect that there will be a lot of developments in this area in the next few weeks and months, especially when we see how USCIS is interpreting the public charge rule change in practice. Please check back for information, and subscribe to my YouTube channel for the most recent updates.

Call +1-214-329-4148 if you would like to discuss the impact of the new rules on your specific case. The new form will take hours to complete, requests extensive information about the applicant AND household members, and will requires lots of supporting documents to be filed. ​​