What Is Form DS-5540, and How Do You Complete It?

What is Form DS-5540 used for?

As part of the U.S. State Department's guidance on the new Public Charge Rule, everyone applying for a Green Card by consular processing, and many people applying for non-immigrant visas, must submit Form DS-5540. The DS-5540 is officially known as the Public Charge Questionnaire. 

The State Department introduced the Public Charge Questionnaire in February 2020 to collect information to determine whether immigrants are financially stable. Consular officers require the DS-5540 in addition to the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support that each Green Card applicant applying from outside the U.S. must submit with their application to show that their Green Card sponsor can support them financially.

DS-5540 is four pages long and asks questions that the State Department uses to determine whether an immigration application falls under the public charge ground of inadmissibility. You can read more about the public charge ground of inadmissibility on our website.

You can assess your public charge risk at ImmigrationHelp.org. You can also get free help completing Form DS-5540 in our easy web-based application.

How do I file Form DS-5540? A step-by-step guide. 

Form DS-5540 is only four pages long, but it can still be intimidating because of how important it is for your immigration application. We understand that, so in this section, we walk you through completing the form, assembling the required supporting documents, and submitting the form.

For more information, you can check out the State Department's guidance on the new public charge rule and its accompanying forms, as well as our article on the public charge.

Step 1) Complete Form DS-5540

The first step in the filing process is to complete Form DS-5540 Public Charge Questionnaire. You can do this by downloading and printing the form from the State Department's website. Better yet, you can use our simple web application to prepare Form DS-5540 quickly and easily. 

Form DS-5540 has seven parts: 

Part 1: (General) Information about You

In this part, you have to enter your name, age, and U.S. travel history - all the dates on which you have entered and left the U.S. Generally if you are between 18 and 61 years of age, USCIS considers it a positive factor in calculating your public charge risk.

Part 2: Your Health

Part 2 asks whether you have U.S. health insurance coverage. If you don't, it asks you what your plans are for health insurance coverage within 30 days of arriving in the United States.

Part 3: Your Household Size

For this section, you must list your household members and family members who receive cash assistance and financial resources from you. In addition to yourself, you must document any of these that apply to your household:

• Your spouse, if you have one
• Your children, if you have some, and if they will be living with you
• Your children who will not be living with you in the United States but who receive at least 50% of their financial resources from you
• Anyone who receives at least 50% of their financial resources from you
• Anyone who provides you with at least 50% of your financial resources
• Anyone you listed as a dependent on your latest federal income tax returns
• Anyone who listed you as a dependent on their latest federal income tax returns

Part 4: Your Assets, Resources, and Financial Status

Part 4 is the longest part of the form, spanning about three pages. For Part 4, you have to submit information that paints a detailed picture of your financial situation. This information includes:

1. All U.S. federal income tax returns you have filed in the past three years

2. Information about your income

• Your current yearly salary in U.S. dollars, 
• Any income you will continue to receive once you arrive in the U.S.from real estate and rent, 
• Child support or pension funds outside of the U.S., and 
• If you have a job lined up for when you arrive in the U.S., provide your employer's contact information and your expected yearly compensation in U.S. dollars.
• Any debts or liabilities you have, including credit card debt
• Any assets you have that you haven't listed, include any checking or savings accounts, real estate equity, or securities

3. Information about any U.S. public benefit you have received on or since February 24th, 2020.

This includes any of the following:

• Income maintenance assistance like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), 
• Project-based rental assistance ("Section 8" subsidized housing), 
• The housing choice voucher program, 
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps), and 
• Medicaid unless you received it 1) In connection with an emergency medical condition, 2) as a pregnant woman in the 60 days following the birth of your child, 3) when you were under 21 years of age, 4) when you were of secondary school age as part of school-based services, or 5) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Generally speaking, the more information you give that shows that you are in a stable financial position, the better. If you have additional information about your assets that do not fit on the form, you can include additional sheets that list all of the additional information. You'll need to have the part, section, and question number the information you are submitting supports on each extra sheet that you add.

‍Part 5 – Education And Skills

‍This part asks you to provide information about your level of education and any specialized skills and certifications you have for employment. As with other parts of the application, the more highly-skilled you show yourself to be, the more likely it is that USCIS will approve your application. The reason is that USCIS assumes that someone with high education and skills will have an easy time finding work in the U.S.

‍Part 6 and 7: Preparer and Translator

‍If you had any assistance with completing the form, either from a translator or from a third-party preparer, you must enter their information in parts 6 and 7 and let them sign at the relevant places. If you prepared your application with our online tools, ImmigrationHelp.org is not your form preparer. We give you the tools needed to prepare your forms yourself rather than prepare them for you as a form preparer.

‍Step 2) Prepare your supporting documents

Form DS-5540 Document Checklist

‍You will need to submit proof of the following things with your Form DS-5540: 

‍1. Current or Future Health Insurance that will cover you in the United States

‍If you currently have U.S. health insurance coverage, you must include as much of the following that you can:

• Health insurance card showing coverage beginning and expiration dates
• A letter from an insurance company on their letterhead or any other evidence document with the insurance company's information that lists your current enrollment date and coverage type
• A copy of each insurance policy page with the terms and type of coverage

If your U.S. health insurance coverage has not begun, or if you will be getting health insurance coverage soon, you must include 

• A letter from the insurance company on their letterhead or
• Any other evidence document with the insurance company's information that lists your name, the insurance coverage type and terms, the start date, and the enrollment date.

If you do not have U.S. health insurance and do not plan to get insurance soon, you must include something that explains how you plan to pay any future medical expenses. Evidence could include:

• Information provided by a doctor authorized by the U.S. government during the medical examination in the Green Card application process that explains that you are not likely to have future bills
• If you have a medical condition, a letter from your doctor listing the medical condition and whether it has an impact on your education or employment
• If you have a medical condition, proof that you have the financial resources to pay for any anticipated medical treatment - either through insurance or with your funds or assets

2. U.S. Federal Tax Return (If applicable)

You must include one of these if you were required to file a U.S. tax return for the most recent tax year:

• A copy of your complete U.S. federal tax return from the most recent tax year
• A copy of your IRS tax return transcript from the most recent tax year

3. Income

You must include as many of these as you can:

• Bank statements showing your income from the past six months. Make sure to highlight all income deposits on the statements.
• The most recent statements from other income sources like child-support payments, social security benefits, stock dividends, and foreign pension payments
• Pay stubs from the past six months
• If you have secured a job that you will begin once you arrive in the U.S., provide your employment offer letter
• Verification of Employment(VOE) letter if you are currently employed

4. Financial Assets and Resources

You must include the following for any of these that you listed in the financial assets section of the form (Part 4):

‍Most recent statements for

• ‍Annuities
• Retirement accounts
• Checkings and savings accounts (for the past 12 months)
• Stocks and bonds (with cash value reflected)
• Certificates of deposit (C.D.s)
• Education savings accounts

Evidence of assets that you could easily convert into cash within a year

Evidence must contain all of this information:

• Name of the asset holder
• Description of the asset
• Net cash value of the owner's portion of the asset
• Proof of ownership

Evidence that you have more than one vehicle

including one of these:

• The title for each vehicle
• The loan or lien on each vehicle
• Kelley Blue Book valuation of each vehicle if you have it

Evidence of real estate holdings

• Deed (proof of ownership)
• Recent appraisal by a licensed appraiser
• The total amount of any loans secured on the property
• The net value of the property (appraised value minus the total amount of loans)

5. Financial Liabilities

Financial liabilities are unpaid taxes, unpaid child or spousal support, car loans, mortgages, and credit card debt. You must include any of these that apply to you:

• IRS tax bill - Any of these from the last six months that you paid on time
• Credit card statements
• Bank statements
• Payment confirmations and receipts
• IRS direct pay confirmations
• IRS Installment Agreement Request (Form 9465)
• IRS Payment Voucher (Form 1040-V) with additional documents showing when the liability will end, for example 1) a loan repayment schedule, 2) a 10-year or 30-year mortgage statement, or 3) an IRS Installment Agreement Request (Form 9465)

6. Education

You must include all of these that apply to you:

• A copy of your high school or secondary school transcripts and diploma, if available. Grades and information must be translated into English as applicable and evaluated to show their U.S. equivalent.
• A copy of any other educational transcripts and diplomas from after high school or secondary school

7. Occupational Skills, Certificates, or Licenses

You must include all of these that apply to you:

• A letter from an employer certifying your skills if you work in an occupation like plumbing that may not have official certificates awarded
• Proof of any officially documented occupational skills

Step 3) File Form DS-5540

Review Form DS-5540 to be sure you have filled it completely and accurately. A complete form will help ensure that you do not delay your application's processing even longer than COVID-19 has already delayed processing times. 

Once you are sure the information is correct and the form is complete, you should include it with the rest of your Green Card application for filing. If you submitted your Green Card application before February 24th, 2020, you should bring your DS-5540 packet with you to your visa interview in case your consular officer requests it.

Form DS-5540 can be complicated, but we can help you prepare it for free with our simple web application.

Conclusion

We hope that you found our guide to completing the new Form DS-5540 useful. Public Charge questionnaires can be complicated, but working with a good immigration attorney can make it easier. If you can't afford the attorney fees and don't want to handle yourcase alone, we may be able to help. If you are eligible, our free web app will walk you through the process and help you prepare and file your application with the U.S. government. Click "Get Started" to see how we can help make your American dream come true!