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BREAKING: A federal district court has just granted summary judgment vacating the Trump Administration's enhanced "Public Charge Rule" in its entirety. (Cook County, Illinois, et al v. Wolf et al). The court found that the Public Charge Rule, which was promulgated last year, violated the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") and was therefore unlawful.
Today’s victory against the Administration is NOT a mere injunction where the underlying lawsuit remains pending and the Administration could still ultimately prevail at the end of the case. Rather, this victory by immigrant-advocates amounts to the complete loss of the lawsuit by the Administration, and its substantial effect is now reverberating worldwide.
This ruling, which will likely be appealed by the Administration, immediately affects a large number of foreign nationals with pending USCIS applications.
USCIS only just began demanding, once again, that foreign nationals file their U.S. immigration applications with the infamously onerous I-944 forms. The requirement that applicants submit I-944 forms had been paused for several months while an injunction prevented USCIS from enforcing the Public Charge Rule. It was only on October 6, 2020, less than a month ago, that USCIS announced that it would once again begin requiring submission of I-944 forms and enforcing the Public Charge Rule that it had been constrained from doing for months. The Administration's insistence on not complying with the APA has led to repeated defeats before the courts, including but not limited to its attempt to undo DACA.
USCIS has not yet formally announced how they will be addressing this latest defeat in Court on the Public Charge Rule. However, we expect that guidance will be made available on the USCIS website as the week progresses. See article Court Voids Public Charge Rule Denying Immigrants U.S. Entry.
We assist countless foreign nationals and we will be happy to personally assist you with your application as well. Send us an E-mail or call us at (888)354-6257. For reasons on why you should consult an immigration attorney whenever you have an immigration issue, see our page titled: Reasons Why it is Vital to Use an Immigration Lawyer.