13 US states have taken legal action against President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday, after the latter announced a final rule on denying visas to applicants that do not have enough money to support themselves throughout the whole planned stay in the US.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington by states of Washington, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Virginia.

According to it, the new rule “effects a radical overhaul of federal immigration law transforming a system that promotes economic mobility among immigrants into one that advantages immigrants with wealth.”

On August 12, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a final rule that seeks immigrant and non-immigrant visa applicants to prove they can rely on their own financial resources or of their family members, sponsors, and private organizations rather than on public resources. The rule sets the minimum amount to be presented at $8,100, while the specific amount will be dependent on each applicant’s circumstances.

A press release of the USCIS claims that the regulation amends DHS regulations by prescribing how DHS officials will decide if a visa applicant is inadmissible to the United States based on his or her likelihood of becoming a public charge at any time in the future.

“The final rule addresses U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) authority to permit an alien to submit a public charge bond in the context of adjustment of status applications. The rule also makes nonimmigrant aliens who have received certain public benefits above a specific threshold generally ineligible for extension of stay and change of status,” the press release reads.

The USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli asserts President Trump has delivered on his promise to enforce long-standing immigration law by defining the public charge inadmissibility ground that has been on the books for years.

“Throughout our history, self-sufficiency has been a core tenet of the American dream. Self-reliance, industriousness, and perseverance laid the foundation of our nation and have defined generations of hardworking immigrants seeking opportunity in the United States ever since. Through the enforcement of the public charge inadmissibility law, we will promote these long-standing ideals and immigrant success,” Cuccinelli said.

The new rule exempts humanitarian-based immigration programs for refugees, asylees, Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs), certain trafficking victims (T nonimmigrants), victims of qualifying criminal activity (U nonimmigrants), or victims of domestic violence (VAWA self-petitioners), among others.

Share this article