Renata Castro, founding attorney of Castro Legal Group, a boutique immigration-centric law firm in Pompano Beach, Florida, was cited by Yahoo Finance on an article discussing unemployment benefits in the United States in light of the seismic changes brought to everyday life by COVID-19’s social distancing restrictions.
On February 2020, immigrants pursuing lawful permanent status [green cards] were presented with another hurdle to overcome – documenting to the United States Government through evidence presented to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, also known as USCIS, that this immigrant would not be a future financial burden on the US government.
Income-based benefits such as SNAP, WIC, and Food stamps could have a serious negative impact on immigration petitions, however, unemployment benefits are earned benefits, and according to the legal interpretation of Renata Castro, it is unlikely that USCIS will consider unemployment benefits as a public charge negative factor, particularly as Unemployment benefits are only available to those who 1)are lawfully eligible to work, 2) have worked minimum number of hours according to the required by the state paying the benefit, and 3)the benefit is partially funded by employers.
Every case is different, so contact Castro Legal Group on whatsapp , or by email at info@castrolegalgroup.com to discuss your specific case.
Click here to read the full interview.
