That 10 year sponsor rule has always been in effect. However, no one pays any attention to it. Way back when I was hired as an eligibility worker for our welfare dept and was doing I&R (intake and referral) when I had to process some legal immigrants and I asked about their sponsors. I was told....yeah that is the law but we don’t ask and don’t pay any attention to it.
Thanks, I figured as much. Of course, I’m not going to tell my relatives anything about welfare. They either get with the program or go home.