USCIS Issues New Public Charge Guidance for Adjustment of Status Applicants

USCIS updated its Policy Manual to explain how officers will decide whether an applicant for adjustment of status is likely to become a public charge, following a DHS final rule that rescinds the 2022 Biden-era public charge regulations. The new guidance takes effect Sept. 18, 2026 and applies to Form I-485 filings submitted on or after that date.

Key points

• DHS announced the final rule on July 16, 2026, published it in the Federal Register on July 20, 2026, and it takes effect Sept. 18, 2026.
• The guidance lists which immigrant categories are subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility and which are exempt, such as asylees, refugees, VAWA self-petitioners, and T and U nonimmigrants.
• Officers must weigh five statutory factors: age, health, family status, assets/resources/financial status, and education and skills, and may also consider Form I-864, Affidavit of Support.
• For benefits received before Sept. 18, 2026, only cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization count; for benefits received on or after that date, any means-tested public benefit may be considered.
• Applicants found inadmissible solely due to public charge concerns may be invited by USCIS to post a public charge bond using Form I-945, but only after receiving a Notice of Intent to Deny.
• This guidance supersedes the 1999 Interim Field Guidance and all related prior public charge guidance.

Who is affected

Applicants filing Form I-485 to adjust status to lawful permanent resident, and their sponsors or attorneys, are affected.

What to do