Have you benefitted from publicly-funded services during your time of need? Your green card application may be in jeopardy

KABABAYAN, this information has nothing to do with President Donald Trump’s intensified crackdown against illegal immigration. This piece is about his administration’s most aggressive effort yet to restrict LEGAL IMMIGRATION in the United States.

Depending on your specific circumstances, your chances of getting your green card or temporary visa — whether you are waiting for the decision in the Philippines or are already living and working in the United States — may be in trouble.

I have already written about the push of the Trump administration to move the United States to a system that focuses on immigrants’ skills and merits over family reunification — the immigration benefit that has made possible to bring our family members in the United States with us and make our American dream come true together.

You must have already heard about the news this week that the Trump administration has expanded “immigration inadmissibility,” which in effect says that if you are a “public charge,” then you are not worthy to be in the United States, not deserving to be issued a green card, and disqualified to eventually be provided the pathway to citizenship.

What is “public charge”? Simply put in Filipino, you are a “public charge” if you are a “pabigat” to America.

This is a very complex problem which may be argued by many as “Pabigat ka sa America, bakit ka aasa ka pang dito manirahan? Aabusuhin mo lang ang America, makikisawsaw sa pinaghirapang buwis na inaambag ng mga U.S. citizen at Legal Permanent Residents at ng mga legal na papeles na narito. Bumalik ka na sa Pilipinas!” We hear this a lot from our own kababayans.

Before we weigh in this issue, let me first help you with the understanding of what is “public charge” by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Q: What is “public charge?”

A: “Public charge” means an individual who is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.

A number of factors must be considered when making a determination that a person is likely to become a public charge.

Under Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an individual seeking admission to the United States or seeking to adjust status to that of an individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence (Green Card) is inadmissible if the individual, “at the time of application for admission or adjustment of status, is likely at any time to become a public charge.” Public charge does not apply in naturalization proceedings. If an individual is inadmissible, admission to the United States or adjustment of status is not granted.

YOU MUST BE THINKING, “Hindi ba dumaan na ako sa butas ng karayom sa screening process ng America? Hindi ba sumailalim na ako sa criminal, security, medical background checks? Hindi ba pinatunayan ko na sa application ko na Hindi aka pabigat? Hindi ba nagbayad na aka ng application fees at filing fees at bayad sa abogado na tumutulong sa amin? Ano ang mangyayari kung nagipit talaga kami? Ano pa and mangyayari sa mga susunod na applicants?”

The changes in the evaluation of whether an applicant will be a public charge depend on the new programs that will now be included in the list of what will be deemed as primary dependency on the U.S. government for subsistence.

As CBS News reported, “The new regulation, if enacted, would require caseworkers to consider the use of government housing, food and medical assistance such as the widely-used Section 8 housing vouchers and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, aka food stamps).”

“The rule would subject immigrant households who fall below certain income thresholds to the “public charge” test — which would also consider how well applicants speak, read and write English. Under the proposed rule, any diagnosed medical condition that requires extensive medical treatment would also “weigh heavily” in evaluations by caseworkers.”

The Washington Post pointed out that in determining whether an applicant is a public charge, “immigration officials will look more thoroughly at the credit score, wealth, age, and educational background of immigration applicants to determine whether they are worthy of being here.”

(TO BE CONTINUED…Abangan)

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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.