Due to its new public charge rule, the State Department has created a draft questionnaire for consular officers to enable them to decide the admissibility of visa applicants under the rule.

The State Department will be accepting public comments on the draft questionnaire until December 23, 2013. After this, the form will be provided to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and finalized. 

The public charge rule can come under challenge in the federal court and blocked from going into effect before or after it is finalized. 

Applicants will be required to submit information such as income, health insurance coverage, financial assets and liabilities, and public benefits that may be received, etc. Immigrant visa applicants will be required to submit this information, although it will not be required for non-immigrant visa applicants to submit this information unless consular officers request for it.

In the meantime, the questionnaire is in draft form and will not affect any visa applicants.

Posted in: Immigration