Donald Trump's administration officially repealed the public charge regulation passed during the Joe Biden administration, a move that will change the way the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) evaluates Green Card, visa and adjustment of status applications.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported this Thursday that the new rule replaces the 2022 regulation and reestablishes broader criteria to determine whether an applicant could become a public charge, that is, depend on benefits funded by American taxpayers.

USCIS will have greater leeway to evaluate applicants

With the repeal of the rule promoted by Biden, USCIS officials will be able to review all the relevant factors of each case individually, as – according to the DHS – contemplated by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The 2022 regulation limited the public benefits that could be considered during the analysis of an application. Now, the Trump administration maintains that officials will have greater tools to evaluate whether an applicant could depend on government assistance.