Public charge and using school services: what the new rule changed

Public charge is a test in federal immigration law. An officer asks whether a person is likely at any time to depend on the government for support. If the answer is yes, the person can be denied a visa, entry, or a green card. The law says officers must at least consider the person's age, health, family status, money and resources, and education and skills.

The test does not apply to everyone. It applies to people applying for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status (changing to a green card from inside the country). Congress exempted several groups, including refugees, asylees, Special Immigrant Juveniles, and people applying for Temporary Protected Status. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says people who already have green cards face the test only in limited situations. U.S. citizen children are never subject to it.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, the agency that decides green card cases) announced that DHS rescinded its 2022 public charge rule. The 2022 rule looked mainly at cash assistance and long-term care in an institution paid by the government. The new rule lets officers look at any means-tested benefit (one you qualify for because of low income) on a case-by-case basis. It applies to applications filed on or after September 18, 2026. Benefits received before that date are judged under the older 2022 limits.

DHS declined to exclude school lunch from what officers may consider for the person who is applying. But the rule also says DHS will generally not consider benefits received by the applicant's family members, unless that family member is also applying and subject to the test. The Houston children's lunches are their own benefit, not their mother's. One narrow exception in the rule: officers may note it if the evidence shows family members the applicant must support get benefits because the applicant's own income is below the required level, or if those benefits are the applicant's source of support.