DOS Cable on Health and Supplemental Nutrition Programs
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS
SPECIAL EMBASSY PROGRAM
BUJUMBURA POUCH
UNCLAS STATE 069941
VISAS, INFORM CONSULS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS
Subject: Public Charge Update: Health and Supplemental Nutrition Programs not a Public Charge
Ref: State 50029
1. Reftel, which advised posts of the termination of the Public Charge Lookout System (PCLS), prompted inquiries concerning the types of benefits which are covered under the 1996 Welfare Act and the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform And Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA). Department wishes to remind posts that reliance on emergency health and supplemental nutrition programs does not/not constitute public charge. The Welfare Act specifically exempted certain programs from the general prohibition of receipt by aliens. Nutrition programs, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) are supplemental (i.e., not subsistence) non-cash benefits that promote the public good. WIC is a public health nutrition program that provides food supplements to ensure positive, healthy birth outcomes. Such programs should not be considered when making public charge determinations.
2. School lunch programs, child vaccination programs, and similar benefits are widely available regardless of an individual's income, citizenship, or immigration status; provide non-cash benefits; and promote the general public good. Receipt of such benefits in itself should not be considered when making 212(a)(4) determinations. Thus, prior or anticipated receipt of such benefits by the applicant, the petitioner/sponsor, or a joint sponsor should not/not result in a finding of 212(a)(4) ineligibility if a sufficient I-864 (i.e., meeting the minimum income requirement) has been submitted and there are no other public charge considerations.
Pickering