Key keywords: Trump immigration rule, green card eligibility, public charge policy revision, legal immigration restrictions, U.S. permanent residency, immigrant financial self-sufficiency, visa overstay penalties, family-based immigration barriers The newly enacted rule from the Trump administration, rolled out on the third week of his second term, represents one of the most sweeping restrictions on legal immigration in decades, significantly raising the threshold for foreign nationals applying for U.S. green cards, the official document granting permanent residency status. Under the updated policy, all green card applicants outside of a narrow set of exceptions (limited only to active-duty military members and their immediate family members) must prove that their annual household income has reached at least 250% of the federal poverty level for the past five consecutive years, a sharp increase from the previous 125% requirement that had been in place for nearly 30 years. For a family of four, that means a minimum annual income of $75,000, a bar that is out of reach for nearly 60% of current family-based immigration applicants, per data from the Migration Policy Institute. Beyond the income requirement, the rule expands the definition of "public charge" -- a label used to deny green cards to immigrants deemed likely to rely on public assistance. Applicants who have received any federal, state or local means-tested benefits, including food stamps, Medicaid, rental assistance or child care subsidies, for more than 30 cumulative days over the past 10 years will face automatic negative consideration in their application review, even if the benefits were claimed for U.S.-citizen children or during temporary periods of unemployment caused by crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. The rule also adds new penalties for applicants who have ever overstayed a visa by more than 30 days, regardless of the reason for the overstay, marking such cases as an automatic disqualifier for green card approval. U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials defending the rule stated that it is designed to "protect American taxpayers and ensure that immigrants coming to this country are self-sufficient, contributing members of society rather than burdens on our public welfare systems." However, the policy has faced immediate widespread pushback: 17 U.S. states, along with 22 immigrant rights organizations, have filed joint federal lawsuits arguing that the rule violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and discriminates against low-income immigrants, disproportionately impacting Latino, Asian and African applicants. As of the first week of implementation, an estimated 148,000 pending green card applications are subject to the new rules, with government estimates showing that up to 38% of those applications will face denial under the new criteria.