Kenyans seeking permanent residence in the United States face a new immigration hurdle after the Trump administration expanded the benefits that immigration officers can consider when assessing some green card applications.
The new policy, which took effect Friday, September 18, gives US immigration officers broader discretion to consider an applicant’s use of certain means-tested public benefits when deciding whether the person is likely to become dependent on government assistance.
The change is relevant to Kenyans in the United States who are seeking lawful permanent residence, including some workers and family members applying to adjust their immigration status.
New US Green Card Rule Raises Concerns for Kenyans Using Public Benefits
Under the expanded public charge policy, benefits that may be considered include programmes such as Medicaid, food assistance, housing assistance and certain education-related financial aid.
The rule does not mean that every Kenyan who has received government assistance will automatically be denied a green card.
Instead, immigration officers will assess whether an applicant is likely to become a public charge, taking the person’s circumstances into account.
The rule could reduce federal and state payments by $13 billion a year by persuading some 950,000 people to disenroll from or avoid federal safety net programs, according to estimates from the Department of Homeland Security.
The agency said that the rule aligns with Congress’s intent that noncitizens “in the United States be self-sufficient and not dependent on taxpayer-funded government benefits.”
The policy has already triggered legal challenges from states and local governments in the US.
More than 20 states, along with local governments, have sued the Trump administration to block the new rule. The plaintiffs argue that the policy could discourage immigrant families from accessing public programmes for which they are legally eligible.
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What the New Rule Means for Kenyans
For Kenyans planning to settle permanently in the US, the change could become an important consideration when applying for a green card.
A green card gives a foreign national lawful permanent resident status, allowing them to live and work permanently in the United States.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) describes adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence as one of the immigration processes subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility.
The expanded policy moves beyond the narrower approach under the current rules, which focused primarily on cash assistance and long-term institutional care.
The administration’s new approach allows officers to consider a wider range of means-tested benefits, creating uncertainty over how individual cases will be assessed.
Reuters reported that the lawsuits challenging the rule argue that the policy does not provide sufficiently clear guidance on which benefits could count against applicants.
This means a Kenyan applicant’s use of a particular public programme should not automatically be treated as a green card rejection. The issue is whether the use of benefits forms part of an immigration officer’s overall determination that the applicant is likely to become a public charge.
Kenyan Families Could Also Be Affected
The policy could affect more than the individual applying for permanent residence.
Many immigrant families in the US have mixed immigration statuses, meaning parents may be immigrants while their children are US citizens.
The legal challenges filed against the administration have raised concerns that families could avoid programmes for which their children are legally eligible because of fears that receiving assistance could affect a parent’s immigration application.
That concern is not entirely new.
A previous Trump administration public charge policy also led to concerns that immigrant families would withdraw from public assistance programmes. The Biden administration later reversed that policy and restored a narrower interpretation of public charge inadmissibility.
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Not Every Immigrant is Covered
The new policy does not apply to every person seeking to remain in the United States.
US immigration rules contain exemptions for certain categories of immigrants, including refugees and people granted asylum, among others.
USCIS guidance also identifies specific categories that are exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility.
Kenyans in the US therefore need to determine which immigration category they fall under before deciding how the rule applies to their circumstances.
The policy also concerns eligibility for immigration benefits, not a blanket ban on immigrants receiving public assistance.
Meanwhile, the coalition of states and local governments challenging the policy argues that the administration exceeded its authority and that the rule could create financial and social costs for states and cities.
The Trump administration, however, has defended the change as a measure intended to ensure immigrants can support themselves rather than depend on government assistance.
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