This Q-and-A with NSC Senior Fellow Amanda Bergson-Shilcock explains what is happening with a key immigration rule that affects whether people are able to get permanent resident (“green card”) status.
Q. Why do education and workforce advocates need to know about this rule?
A. Many immigrants who enroll in adult education, higher education, or workforce development programs are hoping to apply for permanent resident status (also called a “green card”) in the future. If federal immigration rules change, these adult learners and workers may be worried about how those changes will affect them.
Specifically, immigrants may be hesitant to sign up for publicly funded education or workforce programs out of fear that doing so might be held against them in their green-card application process.
Education and workforce advocates should be prepared to offer basic reassurance to learners and workers in their programs, and to direct them to reputable sources for further questions.
Q. What is the “public charge” rule?
A. Under US law, a person’s application for permanent resident status can be denied if an immigration officer finds that they are likely to become a public charge. In plain language, this generally refers to people who are likely to become dependent on the government for basic living expenses or care.
The public charge provision has been around for a long time, but it has generally been limited to very specific, narrow circumstances. It is a “totality of circumstances” test, meaning that the immigration official who reviews a green-card application weighs both positive and negative factors in determining whether a person is likely to become a public charge.
(Note that there is a separate public charge provision that can affect whether a person is able to sponsor a family member to come to the U.S., but that provision is not part of the recently proposed rule change.)
Q. What is the current status of the rule?
A. The existing immigration public charge regulation was enacted in 2022 during the Biden administration. It clearly states that only a handful of public benefits programs count toward the public charge test. Education and workforce benefits are NOT on the list, meaning that people are free to participate in such programs without fear of jeopardizing their immigration status.
This is a clear, bright-line standard that National Skills Coalition and many other organizations have supported. It reflects a standard that has been in place almost continuously since 1999 (save for a brief period during the first Trump administration).
Q.How is the Trump administration proposing to change the rule?
A. In November 2025, the administration released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would rescind the 2022 Biden-era regulation.
Notably, the administration did NOT propose a new regulation to take its place. Instead, federal officials suggested that the administration might issue sub-regulatory guidance at some point in the future.
Thousands of people and organizations, including National Skills Coalition, submitted public comments objecting to this proposal. Our comments emphasized that moving from a clear, bright-line standard to a vague, subjective standard would create significant confusion.
Specifically, giving frontline immigration officers enormous discretion to make determinations on a case-by-case basis could result in uneven and unpredictable outcomes for green-card applicants.
Removing the bright-line standard would also make it much harder for state and local leaders and advocates to reassure immigrants that participating in publicly funded education and workforce programs will not harm their immigration status.
Q. Does participating in education and workforce programs count against immigrants in the public charge test?
A. Under the existing 2022 rule, no – education and workforce programs do not count as “public benefits” and thus immigrants are free to participate in such programs without fear that they will be counted against them.
Under the new proposed rule, the issue is less clear. As described above, the public charge test would become subject to individual immigration officers’ discretion. In addition, federal agencies have recently tried to declare that participation in certain education programs should be considered a public benefit (and thus would count against immigrants in the public charge test). States have filed suit to protest this new policy interpretation, and litigation is still ongoing.
Q. Which categories of immigrants would be affected by this rule change?
A. About two-thirds of the roughly 48 million immigrants in the United States today would not be directly affected by the public charge rule, because they already have a green card or US citizenship status.
However, past research shows that even immigrants who are not affected by new rules nevertheless experience major chilling effects – that is, the announcement of rule causes fear and confusion, and people avoid enrolling in programs for which they are genuinely eligible.
For example, when the public charge rules were changed back in 2019 under the first Trump administration, millions of people stayed away from publicly funded programs and services.
In addition, there are approximately 15 million immigrants in the U.S. who do not yet have a green card. These individuals may have short-term student or work visas, temporary/liminal status, or be undocumented. Some of these individuals have a current path to a green card, and thus generally would be subject to the new public charge regulation. (A handful would be exempt, such as people who are applying for a green card under the Violence Against Women Act.) Others hope to have a pathway to a green card in the future, and thus would be subject to the new regulation if that occurred.
Q. Has the Trump administration’s proposed rule change actually happened yet?
A. No. The NPRM that was published in November 2025 has not yet resulted in a Final Rule being published. However, it is likely to be finalized in early 2026. If it is enacted, the rule will likely face litigation. Courts may or may not allow the rule to be enforced while litigation is underway.
Q. Where should skills advocates go for more information?
A. The nonprofit Protecting Immigrant Families coalition provides up-to-date analysis of public charge policy developments. Other reputable sources of information include the National Immigration Law Center and the Migration Policy Institute.
