How does USCIS decide whether someone is deportable as a public charge?
Deportations on public charge grounds are very rare because the standards are very strict. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an alien is deportable if he or she becomes a public charge within 5 years after the date of entry into the U.S. for reasons not affirmatively shown to have arisen since entry. The mere receipt of a public benefit within 5 years of entry does not make an alien deportable as a public charge. An alien is deportable only if (1) the state or other government entity that provides the benefit has the legal right to seek repayment from the alien or another obligated party (for example, a sponsor under an affidavit of support), (2) the responsible program officials make a demand for repayment; and (3) the alien or other obligated party, such as the alien’s sponsor, fails to repay. The benefit granting agency must seek repayment within 5 years of the alien’s entry into the United States, obtain a final judgment, take all steps necessary to collect on that judgmen
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