For benefits received before Sept. 18, USCIS said it would consider only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense under the previous framework.

A coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia, joined by a separate group of major cities and counties, argues that the new rule gives officers excessive discretion to weigh immigrants’ use of public benefits when deciding certain green card cases. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia, joined by a separate group of major U.S. cities and counties, has sued the Trump administration to stop a swe