US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that starting September 18, it will implement new guidance on the public charge inadmissibility determination. The rules expand financial scrutiny for most family and employment-based Green Card applicants, requiring officers to assess whether individuals are likely to rely on government assistance. The updated guidance applies to all adjustment of status applications (Form I‑485) submitted on or after this date. Older versions of the form will no longer be accepted. Under the new rules, USCIS officers will conduct a stricter public charge test. Applicants will be evaluated on age, health, family status, assets, financial resources, education, and skills. Receipt of means‑tested public benefits after September 18 will count against applicants, while past cash assistance and long‑term institutionalization will also be considered.
What is changing: USCIS’ new policy guidance
The public charge ground of inadmissibility has long allowed the government to deny a green card or visa if an applicant is judged likely to become dependent on government assistance. What’s changing is not the existence of the test itself, but which benefits count as evidence against an applicant, and how heavily they weigh.Under the outgoing 2022 rule, only two things counted: cash assistance for income maintenance, and long-term institutionalisation at government expense. The new guidance broadens this considerably, allowing USCIS officers to weigh a far wider range of means-tested public benefits, including food stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, and housing vouchers, when deciding whether to approve an application.Crucially, USCIS will assess cases based on the filing date, not the decision date:* Filed on or after September 18, 2026: the new, broader 2026 guidance applies.* Filed between December 23, 2022 and September 17, 2026: the narrower 2022 rule continues to apply, even if the case is decided after September 18.* Filed before December 23, 2022: the older 1999 Interim Field Guidance applies.This means two applicants with an identical fact pattern — say, a benefit received by a household member years earlier — could see very different outcomes purely based on which filing window their case falls into.Officers are directed to weigh the “totality of circumstances” rather than apply a single bright-line test, considering five statutory factors: age, health, family status, financial resources and assets, and education and skills. A Form I-864 Affidavit of Support may also be considered where applicable, along with a newly required, updated edition of Form I-485.
Categories subject to the new rule
The revised public charge ground applies to:* Green card applicants in the family-based, employment-based, and diversity visa (lottery) categories, whether adjusting status inside the U.S. or applying for an immigrant visa abroad* Religious worker applicants* Certain individuals applying for admission to the U.S. on specific nonimmigrant visas* Lawful permanent residents who spend more than six months (180 days) abroad, since they are treated as new “applicants for admission” when they seek to re-enter the U.S.* TPS (Temporary Protected Status) holders who later adjust status through a family petition — importantly, holding TPS itself remains exempt, but a subsequent family-based green card application is not
Categories exempt from the new rule
Congress has carved out several categories that remain exempt from public charge determinations regardless of the new guidance:* Refugees and asylees applying through those specific categories* Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs)* T nonimmigrant visa holders (victims of human trafficking)* U nonimmigrant visa holders (victims of certain crimes)* VAWA self-petitioners (Violence Against Women Act)* Cuban nationals filing under the Cuban Adjustment Act* Current green card holders simply renewing their existing status* Applicants for naturalization (U.S. citizenship)* U.S. citizens, who are never subject to the public charge ground at all* TPS applicants and re-registrants, for TPS itself (though, as noted above, this doesn’t carry over if they later pursue a family-based green card)One clarification worth noting: a child’s receipt of benefits like Medicaid or SNAP does not automatically count as the parent-applicant’s own receipt, unless the applicant is themselves the named beneficiary of that benefit or is separately shown to be relying on it as part of the household’s overall financial picture.
How determinations will be made
USCIS officers will weigh five statutory factors: age, health, family status, assets/resources, and education/skills. They may also review affidavits of support and evidence of public benefit usage. Benefits received before September 18 are limited to cash assistance and long-term institutionalization, while after September 18, all means-tested benefits such as food stamps, housing aid, and Medicaid may be considered.
Public charge bonds
Applicants found inadmissible solely due to public charge concerns may be offered the option of posting a public charge bond, allowing their case to proceed if they can financially guarantee they will not rely on government aid.
