The Department of Homeland Security has finalized a new rule that will change how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) decides whether an applicant for a green card or certain other immigration benefits is likely to become a “public charge.” The rule takes effect September 18, 2026, and it represents a significant departure from the framework that has governed these decisions since 2022.
Below is a plain-English look at what’s changing, who is affected, and what applicants should be thinking about now.
The core change: less rule, more discretion
Public charge is a ground of inadmissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act. It asks whether a noncitizen seeking admission or a green card is likely, at any time, to become primarily dependent on the government for support.
Since 2022, that question has been answered using a fairly structured regulatory framework: a defined list of factors, specific definitions of which government benefits count, and clear rules about how those factors should be weighed. The new rule tears that structure out. It rescinds the 2022 regulations wholesale and does not replace them with a new set of binding definitions or a fixed adjudicative framework. Instead, USCIS officers will decide public charge cases based on agency guidance (expected in the USCIS Policy Manual and internal training materials) and their own judgment about the “totality of the circumstances.”
In practice, this means two similar cases could be decided differently depending on the officer, and it means that important details — like exactly which government benefits will count against an applicant, and how heavily — are not yet fully known. That guidance is expected before the rule takes effect, but as of this writing it has not been released.
Key date: September 18, 2026
The rule applies to adjustment-of-status applications (green card applications filed from within the United States) filed on or after September 18, 2026, whether submitted electronically or by mail. Applications filed before that date will continue to be evaluated under the 2022 framework.
USCIS is also expected to release updated versions of several forms — including Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) and the forms related to public charge bonds — shortly before the effective date. Anyone planning to file close to the transition should build in extra time, since filing with an outdated form after new forms are issued can result in a rejection.
Who does — and doesn’t — need to worry about this
Public charge does not apply to U.S. citizens. It also does not apply to a number of protected categories, including asylees, refugees, and applicants for T visas (trafficking victims), U visas (crime victims), and VAWA-based petitions (victims of domestic violence). Lawful permanent residents are generally not screened for public charge unless they are being treated as applicants for admission (for example, after certain trips abroad or criminal issues). Public charge does, however, generally continue to apply to nonimmigrants — people in the U.S. on temporary visas.
What counts toward a public charge finding
Historically, the definition of “public charge” has shifted with each administration:
- Under 1999 guidance, a public charge was someone primarily dependent on the government, shown mainly through cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutional care at government expense.
- The 2019 rule (in effect briefly during the first Trump administration) took a much broader view, counting the use of a wide range of benefits — including SNAP, Medicaid, housing assistance, and cash aid — for more than 12 months within a 36-month period.
- The 2022 rule narrowed things back down, focusing again on cash assistance and long-term institutionalization, and made clear that only a noncitizen’s own receipt of benefits (not merely applying for them, or a family member’s use) counted.
- The new 2026 rule does not include a regulatory definition at all. DHS has signaled it intends for USCIS to consider a much broader range of means-tested government benefits going forward, expressly citing programs like SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP, WIC, housing assistance, school lunch programs, Head Start, and tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit as potentially relevant. Benefit use before September 18, 2026 will still be judged under the narrower 2022 standard; broader scrutiny applies only to benefits received on or after that date.
Rather than a fixed list of factors, the new rule points to three broad categories officers may consider: the statutory minimum factors already in the law (age, health, family status, assets/resources/financial status, and education/skills); any other case-specific circumstances; and unspecified “empirical data” relevant to self-sufficiency. DHS has not defined what that data might include.
Family members’ benefit use
DHS has said the rule does not prohibit anyone from using benefits they’re legally entitled to, and that a family member’s — including a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member’s — lawful benefit use will not usually, by itself, count against the applicant. But DHS has also left the door open to consider it indirectly: if a family member’s benefit receipt affects the household’s overall financial picture, or if a family member’s benefits are actually the source of the applicant’s own financial support, that could be weighed as part of the “assets, resources, and financial status” factor. Exactly how this will play out in practice is still unclear, and DHS itself has acknowledged the tension this creates for mixed-status families trying to decide whether to use benefits they’re legally eligible for.
The affidavit of support matters less than it used to
For years, a sufficient Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) has generally been treated as a strong positive factor in public charge determinations, and in many cases practitioners could rely on it fairly heavily to offset other concerns. Under the new rule, DHS has said it is aligning its approach with the plain language of the statute, which gives officers discretion — not a requirement — to consider the affidavit of support at all. Officers “may opt not to consider it” depending on the facts of a case. This is a meaningful shift, and practitioners should not assume a sufficient affidavit will carry the weight it once did.
Disability is not, by itself, disqualifying
DHS has reiterated that a disability alone cannot support a public charge finding, consistent with protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. That said, health remains one of the statutory minimum factors officers are required to consider, so health-related circumstances can still play into the overall totality-of-the-circumstances analysis.
Public charge bonds
The rule leaves the basic public charge bond framework largely intact but tightens the rules around when a bond is breached — clarifying that receiving any means-tested public benefit, or failing to comply with any condition of the bond, results in a breach. Public charge bonds have historically been rare in practice, and DHS itself expects only limited use going forward, though that could change if denials increase. There have also been media reports of bonds as high as $100,000 being discussed in the visa context.
What this means going forward
Because so much depends on guidance USCIS has not yet issued, a fair amount of uncertainty will remain even after the rule takes effect. A few practical takeaways:
- Expect more scrutiny. More Requests for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny, and additional interview questions on public charge are likely, along with potential processing delays.
- Benefit history will matter more, and cover more ground. Applicants and their families should be prepared to discuss a wider range of federal, state, local, and tribal benefits than in recent years, with the caveat that only benefits received on or after September 18, 2026 fall under the new, broader standard.
- Don’t assume a strong affidavit of support settles the question. It remains relevant, but it’s no longer a given that it will be treated as decisive.
- Filing timing matters. Applications filed before September 18, 2026 are judged under the current, narrower 2022 standard.
- This is a fast-moving area. Formal USCIS guidance is expected before the effective date, and real-world adjudication patterns will likely keep evolving after that. Anyone with a pending or upcoming green card application should check in with counsel close to their filing date rather than relying on older assumptions about how public charge works.