In a statement posted to the USCIS website on Wednesday, DHS writes:
On March 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit lifted its stay of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ Nov. 2, 2020, decision vacating the Public Charge Final Rule nationwide. USCIS immediately stopped applying the Public Charge Final Rule to all pending applications and petitions that would have been subject to the rule. In turn, USCIS is applying the 1999 Interim Field Guidance, which was in place before the Public Charge Final Rule was implemented, to the adjudication of any application for adjustment of status that was pending or received on or after March 9, 2021. In addition, USCIS is adjudicating any application or petition for extension of nonimmigrant stay or change of nonimmigrant status pending or received on or after March 9, 2021, consistent with regulations in place before the Public Charge Rule was implemented; in other words, USCIS is not applying the “public benefits condition.”
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition for certiorari in DHS, et al. v. State of New York, et al. based on a joint stipulation to dismiss filed by the parties, in the case challenging a controversial Trump-era regulation that makes it more difficult for noncitizens applying for immigration benefits if they have used certain public assistance, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and housing vouchers.
Last month, the justices agreed to take up a challenge to the so called "public charge" rule brought by The Legal Aid Society, various groups and state and local officials. But in a brief letter to the court on Tuesday, Acting Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices that both sides had agreed that the challenge should be dismissed.
As reported by CNN, Susan Welber, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, said in an interview that the filing means that the Trump rule will "now be blocked while the Biden administration continues its review process and decides what the new will be."
In a statement released today noting that it is “neither in the public interest nor an efficient use of limited government resources” to continue to defend the Public Charge Rule, DHS announced that the Department of Justice will no longer pursue appellate review of judicial decisions invalidating or enjoining its enforcement. Per DHS, “Once the previously entered judicial invalidation of the 2019 Rule becomes final, the 1999 interim field guidance on the public charge inadmissibility provision (i.e., the policy that was in place before the 2019 Rule) will apply.”
Accordingly, the government has moved to dismiss the appeals pending before the circuit courts of appeals as well, including Cook County v. Wolf, pending in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Today, the Seventh Circuit issued its mandate in the Cook County case, meaning the decisions of the district court permanently vacating the rule will become the law of the land in the absence of further developments.
We are waiting on further guidance from USCIS on implementation of these expected orders and will provide additional updates as they are released. As of this moment, Form I-944 remains in effect.
President Joe Biden had called for the immediate review of the rule in an executive order which, he said, "should consider and evaluate" the effects of the rule and recommend steps agencies should take "to clearly communicate current public charge policies and proposed changes, if any, to reduce fear and confusion among impacted communities."