Immigration officers can deny a Green Card or other visa if they
determine that the applicant is "likely to become a public
charge." The new rule published August 14, 2019 will be
effective October 15, 2019, unless lawsuits already filed stop its
implementation.
One current issue is that USCIS has still not finalized the
forms required for applications postmarked on or after October 15,
2019. One such Form is the Form I-944, Declaration of
Self-Sufficiency, which has to be filed with most applications for
family-based Adjustment of Status cases. The draft form is 19 pages
and requires detailed information about the household income,
assets, resources and financial status. The purpose of the form is
to enable Immigration Officers to determine whether an applicant
would be inadmissible under the public charge ground. USCIS
estimated that an applicant would need 4 to 4.5 hours to complete
the form. It is similar to mortgage and financial disclosure
forms.
