Receipt of Unemployment Insurance

The USCIS has also confirmed that unemployment insurance is generally not taken into consideration for purposes of making a public charge determination. In its explanation, the DHS explained that it "would not consider federal and state retirement, Social Security retirement benefits, Social Security Disability, post-secondary education, and unemployment benefits as public benefits under the public charge inadmissibility determination as these are considered to be earned benefits through the person's employment and specific tax deductions." Additionally, the USCIS has indicated in its Policy Manual that unemployment benefits are not considered by USCIS in a public charge inadmissibility determination as unemployment insurance is considered by USCIS to be an "earned" benefit.