A comparison of how the immigration systems of Canada and the United States each deal with the issue of immigrants and social assistance.

How similar is the “public charge” rule in the United States and “financial inadmissibility” in Canada? What is a sponsorship bar? Can permanent residents be deported for imposing a fiscal burden on the state?

Andrew Hayes is a US immigration lawyer who practices in Vancouver.

00:30 – How does US immigration law and policy development work?

1:45 – What is the public charge rule?

2:30 – What is an affidavit of support?

4:00 – Does the United States have a points based economic immigration system?

5:40 – What are the concerns about Donald Trump’s changes from a substantial impact?

8:00 – What is the Low Income Requirement in Canada? Is there a similar requirement in the United States?

11:00 – There are often situations where the sponsor of a family member may be poor, but the breadwinner of the family is the prospective immigrant. How does Canadian and American immigration law account for this?

13:00 – Are affidavits of support usually enforced? What about sponsorship undertakings?

23:00 – How does financial inadmissibility work in Canada?

25:30 – What is the consequence of being determined to be financially inadmissible?

27:00 – Can a permanent resident of Canada be financially inadmissible to Canada? What about to the United States?

38:20 – Can someone be medically inadmissible to the United States?

43:30 – How are the courts likely to react to Trump’s changes to the public charge rule?

57:20 – Can refugees be financially inadmissible?

59:00 – Does having US citizen children impact financial inadmissibility? What about in Canada?