(a) Inadmissible aliens. In accordance with section 213 of the Act, after an alien seeking adjustment of status has been found inadmissible as likely at any time in the future to become a public charge under section 212(a)(4) of the Act, DHS may allow the alien to submit a public charge bond, if the alien is otherwise admissible, in accordance with the requirements of 8 CFR 103.6 and this section. The public charge bond must meet the conditions set forth in 8 CFR 103.6 and this section.

(b) Discretion. The decision to allow an alien inadmissible under section 212(a)(4) of the Act to submit a public charge bond is in DHS's discretion. If an alien has one or more heavily weighted negative factors as defined in 8 CFR 212.22(c)(1) in his or her case, DHS generally will not favorably exercise discretion to allow submission of a public charge bond.

(c) Public Charge Bonds—

(1) Types. DHS may require an alien to submit a surety bond, as listed in 8 CFR 103.6, or cash or any cash equivalents specified by DHS. DHS will notify the alien of the type of bond that may be submitted. All surety, cash, or cash equivalent bonds must be executed on a form designated by DHS and in accordance with form instructions. When a surety bond is accepted, the bond must comply with requirements applicable to surety bonds in 8 CFR 103.6 and this section. If cash or a cash equivalent is being provided to secure a bond, DHS must issue a receipt on a form designated by DHS.

(2) Amount. Any public charge bond must be in an amount decided by DHS, not less than $8,100, annually adjusted for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), and rounded up to the nearest dollar. The bond amount decided by DHS may not be appealed by the alien or the bond obligor.

(d) Conditions of the bond. A public charge bond must remain in effect until USCIS grants a request to cancel the bond in accordance with paragraph (g) of this section, whereby the alien naturalizes or otherwise obtains U.S. citizenship, permanently departs the United States, dies, the alien has reached his or her 5-year anniversary since becoming a lawful permanent resident, or the alien changes immigration status to one not subject to public charge ground of inadmissibility. An alien on whose behalf a public charge bond has been submitted may not receive any public benefits, as defined in 8 CFR 212.21(b), for more than 12 months in the aggregate within any 36-month period (such that, for instance, receipt of two benefits in one month counts as two months) after the alien's adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident, until the bond is cancelled in accordance with paragraph (g) of this section. An alien must also comply with any other conditions imposed as part of the bond.

(e) Submission. A public charge bond may be submitted on the alien's behalf only after DHS notifies the alien and the alien's representative, if any, that a bond may be submitted. The bond must be submitted to DHS in accordance with the instructions of the form designated by DHS for this purpose, with the fee prescribed in 8 CFR 103.7(b), and any procedures contained in the DHS notification to the alien. DHS will specify the bond amount and any other conditions, as appropriate for the alien and the immigration benefit being sought. USCIS will notify the alien and the alien's representative, if any, that the bond has been accepted, and will provide a copy to the alien and the alien's representative, if any, of any communication between the obligor and the U.S. government. An obligor must notify DHS within 30 days of any change in the obligor's or the alien's physical and mailing address.

(f) Substitution—

(1) Substitution Process. Either the obligor of the bond previously submitted to DHS or a new obligor may submit a substitute bond on the alien's behalf. The substitute bond must specify an effective date. The substitute bond must meet all of the requirements applicable to the initial bond as required by this section and 8 CFR 103.6, and if the obligor is different from the original obligor, the new obligor must assume all liabilities of the initial obligor. The substitute bond must also cover any breach of the bond conditions which occurred before DHS accepted the substitute bond, in the event DHS did not learn of the breach until after DHS accepted the substitute bond.

(2) Acceptance. Upon submission of the substitute bond, DHS will review the substitute bond for sufficiency as set forth in this section. If the substitute bond is sufficient DHS will cancel the bond previously submitted to DHS, and replace it with the substitute bond. If the substitute bond is insufficient, DHS will notify the obligor of the substitute bond to correct the deficiency within the timeframe specified in the notice. If the deficiency is not corrected within the timeframe specified, the previously submitted bond will remain in effect.

(g) Cancellation of the Public Charge Bond.

(1) An alien or obligor may request that DHS cancel a public charge bond if the alien:

(i) Naturalized or otherwise obtained United States citizenship;

(ii) Permanently departed the United States;

(iii) Died;

(iv) Reached his or her 5-year anniversary since becoming a lawful permanent resident; or

(v) Obtained a different immigration status not subject to public charge inadmissibility, as listed in 8 CFR 212.23, following the grant of lawful permanent resident status associated with the public charge bond.

(2) Permanent Departure Defined. For purposes of this section, permanent departure means that the alien lost or abandoned his or her lawful permanent resident status, whether by operation of law or voluntarily, and physically departed the United States. An alien is only deemed to have voluntarily lost lawful permanent resident status when the alien has submitted a record of abandonment of lawful permanent resident status, on the form prescribed by DHS, from outside the United States, and in accordance with the form's instructions.

(3) Cancellation Request. A request to cancel a public charge bond must be made by submitting a form designated by DHS, in accordance with that form's instructions and the fee prescribed in 8 CFR 103.7(b). If a request for cancellation of a public charge bond is not filed, the bond shall remain in effect until the form is filed, reviewed, and a decision is rendered. DHS may in its discretion cancel a public charge bond if it determines that an alien otherwise meets the eligibility requirements of paragraphs (g)(1) of this section.

(4) Adjudication and Burden of Proof. The alien and the obligor have the burden to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one of the conditions for cancellation of the public charge bond listed in paragraph (g)(1) of this section has been met. If DHS determines that the information included in the cancellation request is insufficient to determine whether cancellation is appropriate, DHS may request additional information as outlined in 8 CFR 103.2(b)(8). DHS must cancel a public charge bond if DHS determines that the conditions of the bond have been met, and that the bond was not breached, in accordance with paragraph (h) of this section. For cancellations under paragraph (g)(1)(iv) of this section, the alien or the obligor must establish that the public charge bond has not been breached during the 5-year period preceding the alien's fifth anniversary of becoming a lawful permanent resident.

(5) Decision. DHS will notify the obligor, the alien, and the alien's representative, if any, of its decision regarding the request to cancel the public charge bond. When the public charge bond is cancelled, the obligor is released from liability. If the public charge bond has been secured by a cash deposit or a cash equivalent, DHS will refund the cash deposit and any interest earned to the obligor consistent with 8 U.S.C. 1363 and 8 CFR 293.1. If DHS denies the request to cancel the bond, DHS will notify the obligor and the alien, and the alien's representative, if any, of the reasons why, and of the right of the obligor to appeal in accordance with the requirements of 8 CFR part 103, subpart A. An obligor may file a motion pursuant to 8 CFR 103.5 after an unfavorable decision on appeal.

(h) Breach—

(1) Breach and Claim in Favor of the United States. An administratively final determination that a bond has been breached creates a claim in favor of the United States. Such claim may not be released or discharged by an immigration officer. A breach determination is administratively final when the time to file an appeal with the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) pursuant to 8 CFR part 103, subpart A, has expired or when the appeal is dismissed or rejected.

(2) Breach of Bond Conditions.

(i) The conditions of the bond are breached if the alien has received public benefits, as defined in 8 CFR 212.21(b), for more than 12 months in the aggregate within any 36-month period (such that, for instance, receipt of two benefits in one month counts as two months), after the alien's adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident and before the bond is cancelled under paragraph (g) of this section. DHS will not consider any public benefits, as defined in 8 CFR 212.21(b), received by the alien during periods while an alien was present in the United States in a category that is exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility or for which the alien received a waiver of public charge inadmissibility, as set forth in 8 CFR 212.21(b) and 8 CFR 212.23, and public benefits received after the alien obtained U.S. citizenship, when determining whether the conditions of the bond have been breached. DHS will not consider any public benefits, as defined in 8 CFR 212.21 (b)(1) through (b)(3), received by an alien who, at the time of receipt filing, adjudication or bond breach or cancellation determination, is enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces under the authority of 10 U.S.C. 504(b)(1)(B) or 10 U.S.C. 504(b)(2), serving in active duty or in the Ready Reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces, or if received by such an individual's spouse or child as defined in section 101(b) of the Act; or

(ii) The conditions of the bond otherwise imposed by DHS as part of the public charge bond are breached.

(3) Adjudication. DHS will determine whether the conditions of the bond have been breached. If DHS determines that it has insufficient information from the benefit-granting agency to determine whether a breach occurred, DHS may request additional information from the benefit-granting agency. If DHS determines that it has insufficient information from the alien or the obligor, it may request additional information as outlined in 8 CFR part 103 before making a breach determination. If DHS intends to declare a bond breached based on information that is not otherwise protected from disclosure to the obligor, DHS will disclose such information to the obligor to the extent permitted by law, and provide the obligor with an opportunity to respond and submit rebuttal evidence, including specifying a deadline for a response. DHS will send a copy of this notification to the alien and the alien's representative, if any. After the obligor's response, or after the specified deadline has passed, DHS will make a breach determination.

(4) Decision. DHS will notify the obligor and the alien, and the alien's representative, if any, of the breach determination. If DHS determines that a bond has been breached, DHS will inform the obligor of the right to appeal in accordance with the requirements of 8 CFR part 103, subpart A. With respect to a breach determination for a surety bond, the alien or the alien's representative, if any, may not appeal the breach determination or file a motion.

(5) Demand for Payment. Demands for amounts due under the terms of the bond will be sent to the obligor and any agent/co-obligor after a declaration of breach becomes administratively final.

(6) Amount of Bond Breach and Effect on Bond. The bond must be considered breached in the full amount of the bond.

(i) Exhaustion of administrative remedies. Unless an administrative appeal is precluded by regulation, a party has not exhausted the administrative remedies available with respect to a public charge bond under this section until the party has obtained a final decision in an administrative appeal under 8 CFR part 103, subpart A.

(ii) [Reserved]

[84 FR 41505, Aug. 14, 2019; 84 FR 52363, Oct. 2, 2019]