U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it will apply the public charge final rule and related guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to all applications and petitions postmarked (or submitted electronically) on or after February 24, 2020. For those who sent their applications or petitions by commercial courier (for example, UPS, FedEx, or DHL), USCIS will use the date on the courier receipt as the postmark date.
USCIS released the guidance on September 22, 2020, on its application of the public charge final rule and related guidance to applications and petitions in light of a September 11, 2020, decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (State of New York, et al. v. DHS, et al. and Make the Road NY et al. v. Cuccinelli) that allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume implementing the rule nationwide, including in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. The decision stays a July 29, 2020, injunction issued during the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented DHS from enforcing the public charge final rule during the national health emergency.
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