TAMPA, Fla. — With just six days to go before the new "public charge" rule governing who will be eligible to apply for U.S. residency goes into effect, the team at the Migrants Foundation in Tampa is working around the clock.

“It’s been sort of like a panic since it was announced and all the petitions have been flowing in since then if they were eligible to do it,” said immigration attorney Paul Palacios.

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The controversial rule will deny residency to immigrants who are deemed likely to use public benefits like Medicaid or food stamps.

Certain types of immigrants, like refugees and asylum seekers, are except from the rule.

Applicants will now be required to submit Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, to demonstrate assets, resources, and financial status when they apply.

Extra paperwork, however, means a bigger workload for immigration attorneys. That, in turn, affects clients’ pocketbooks, supporting criticism from those who oppose the rule that call it a wealth test disproportionally affecting certain people and groups.

“We’re talking at least a couple thousand dollars more that people will pay to get this done,” Palacios said.

The public charge rule hits close to home at the Migrants Foundation – founder Jose Javier Torres is trying to get his mother’s application submitted before the rule goes into effect.

“It is very stressful for the family and it’s a burden that we are facing, not only with our parents but for me firsthand as a Venezuelan,” he said.

As February 24 looms nearer, it’s a race against the clock for Torres’s mother.

“It’s not fair,” Torres said.