My place of work shut down on Tuesday for a minimum of 14 days due to the covid-19. I am removing the conditions of my 2 year conditional permanent residency in May, and i was wondering if applying for unemployment will be a negative 'notch' on my application?
No, unemployment benefits are not considered public benefits for purposes of immigration.
No, applying for unemployment benefits will not negatively affect your I-751 application.
More on the new Public Charge Rule: https://self-lawyer.com/the-public-charge-rule/
More on Form I-751, removing conditions: https://self-lawyer.com/conditional-permanent-residency-and-form-i-751/
The short answer to your question is no. Unemployment compensation does not make one a "public charge".
Once again, the answer is "No" - "unemployment benefits" are not "welfare". It is simply insurance payouts. it was precisely for this kind of situation that employers (and employees) are made to contribute to each state's unemployment insurance fund. No negative effect on any ongoing "green card application" now or in the future.
The answer is it should not but make sure you document with a statement as to the need for the claim and provide that at your interview. Please see below and explanation on unemployment benefits. USCIS has specifically indicated that unemployment insurance benefits paid to a noncitizen worker are not subject to public charge consideration. The unemployment benefit insurance program is administered by the states who pick up the cost of providing the unemployment insurance initially (normally 26 weeks). After this period, the federal government pays for the cost of the unemployment insurance up to a certain maximum number of weeks.
Eligibility for unemployment insurance varies slightly by state and also as to whether the benefits are paid by the state (during the first 26 weeks) or by the federal government (afterwards). The group of eligible recipients during the state-paid initial 26 week period is larger than the eligible recipients under the extended federal benefits period. For example, H-1B holders may be eligible to obtain benefits under the state-paid initial 26 week period, but they are normally not included in the list of eligible recipients of the extended federal benefits. Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) are normally eligible for both the state-paid and federal-paid periods.
