USCIS Discontinued Form I-944 on March 9, 2021: Family- and Employment-Based I-485 Applicants No Longer Need to File It
The article records that USCIS stopped using Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, as of March 9, 2021, so family- and employment-based applicants filing I-485 no longer need to include the form or related supporting documents. It reviews that the form originated from the 2020 public charge rule and explains the prior requirement that derivative applicants each complete their own form, as well as exemptions.
- [New] [Updated 2021/03/11] USCIS has officially discontinued Form I-944, “Declaration of Self-Sufficiency”; family and employment-based immigrants no longer need to file Form I-944. USCIS states here: “[…] beginning on March 9, 2021, applicants should not file Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, or any evidence or documentation required on that form with their Form I-485. The Form I-944 has been discontinued”.
- [Updated March 9, 2021] The Biden administration rescinded Trump's new public charge rule, and Form I-944 is expected to be discontinued.
- {https://gonglue.us/2494}
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Reader question: Do family members as derivative applicants of an employment-based immigrant petition (when filing I-485 together with the principal applicant) also need to submit a separate Form I-944?
Form I-944 is the “Declaration of Self-Sufficiency,” a commitment to the U.S. government that “I can support myself and will not become a burden on the American people.” This was a new form introduced by the Trump administration in 2020. According to USCIS filing instructions, all individuals filing Form I-485 for adjustment of status (AOS) who are subject to the new public charge rule must submit Form I-944, and each Form I-485 requires a separate form; in other words, derivative/dependent applicants must also complete it.
All family-based and employment-based immigrants are subject to the new public charge rule and must submit Form I-944; exemptions include:
- Asylum and refugee applicants.
- Applicants who are victims of domestic violence by a spouse.
- Certain T/U applicants.
- Special Immigrant Juveniles. See {https://gonglue.us/7451}.
- The very limited exceptions listed in 8 C.F.R. § 212.23.
Answer to the reader's question: Yes.
[add-series id=511][note]Recent immigration and visa policy changes [/note]
