Chain immigration has been a major thorn in the side of the Trump administration. President Trump has long pushed to eliminate it and keep the US borders open to immigrants just based on their skill sets, age and educational qualifications. Keeping up with this intent, he recently signed a memorandum that requires sponsors of family members coming to the US accountable and responsible for all expenses related to their medical and financial needs when in the US.
What does this mean for US Citizens Sponsoring family members?
The Trump administration is going to hold the sponsor of a family member to the US responsible for every medical and financial benefit that the immigrant will claim when here in the US. He will have to sign an affidavit stating that he will be completely responsible for all their medical and financial needs. While this was always a part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) and Welfare Reform of 1996, it wasn’t strictly enforced. Going forward, there will not only be a binding affidavit outlining the financial responsibilities on behalf of the sponsored immigrant but also a regulated collection mechanism to recover these expenses from this sponsor.
Sponsoring Green Card for Parents
If you are bringing your parents to the US, here is what’s important for sponsoring a green card for them.
While applying to legally migrate to the US based on sponsorship from a family member who is already a US citizen, the sponsor will now have to reimburse the US government any social services used while in the US. This could mean medical facilities like Medicaid or financial welfare used on the basis of being a senior person. The current affidavit of support specifies that the sponsor can support the immigrant and that their income is 125% above the mandated poverty line for their family, including all sponsored family members. This has to backed with with supporting documents. The Department of Health and Human Services will collect the information of the sponsors and the immigrants, while the Treasury Department will work on the reimbursements and recover the funds.
If you are a US citizen and looking to sponsor a family member, here is a checklist of everything to know about acquiring a family based green card
While this is intended to deter chain immigration, it is certainly going to make it quite expensive for family members, especially elderly parents coming and joining their adult children in the US. Currently, 66% of immigrants are admitted based on family connections based in the US.
