Ololade Adeyanju/
The United States is set to adopt a broader and more discretionary approach to assessing whether certain immigrants applying for green cards are likely to become a ‘public charge’, with the new rules taking effect on September 18, 2026.
The change follows a final rule issued by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and published in the Federal Register on July 20. The rule rescinds the 2022 regulations governing public charge determinations and restores greater discretion to immigration officers when assessing individual cases.
The public charge ground of inadmissibility applies to certain immigrants who immigration authorities determine are likely, at any time, to become primarily dependent on government support.
Under the new approach, officers assessing an applicant for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident must consider five factors set out in US immigration law. They are the applicant’s age, health, family status, assets, resources and financial status, and education and skills.
The five factors, however, will not form an exhaustive checklist. DHS says officers will also be able to consider other relevant evidence and circumstances surrounding an individual application.
This includes an applicant’s receipt of means-tested public benefits, as well as other information that may be relevant to determining whether the person is likely to become a public charge.
USCIS is expected to make the determinations on a case-by-case basis, considering the totality of each applicant’s circumstances rather than relying on a single factor.
The agency may also consider an applicant’s Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, where applicable. DHS said officers would have discretion to assess other individual circumstances relevant to an applicant’s ability or potential ability to support themselves.
One of the significant changes is the broader scope of public benefits that may be considered.
For benefits received before September 18, USCIS will continue to apply the approach under the 2022 regulations. That framework focused on certain public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalisation at government expense.
For applications covered by the new rules, officers will have greater discretion to consider an applicant’s receipt of means-tested public benefits as part of the overall assessment.
DHS said the change is intended to restore the agency’s ability to consider relevant facts that it believes were excluded or restricted under the 2022 regulations.
The department said the revised approach is consistent with congressional policy that immigrants should be self-sufficient and should not be encouraged to depend on government benefits.
Importantly, DHS has not designated particular factors as automatically ‘heavily weighted’ either positively or negatively. Instead, officers are expected to assess the five statutory factors alongside other relevant evidence and circumstances in each case.
The new rule applies to applications for admission made on or after September 18, 2026, and to applications for adjustment of status that are postmarked or electronically submitted from that date.
The changes therefore affect certain people seeking lawful permanent residence, including applicants filing Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, where the public charge ground of inadmissibility applies.
Not every green card applicant is subject to the public charge test.
The law continues to exempt several categories of immigrants, including refugees and asylees, as well as certain other humanitarian and special immigrant categories. The regulations also provide exemptions for specified groups, including certain Afghan and Iraqi interpreters and other qualifying applicants.
USCIS will also retain its public charge bond process.
Where an immigration officer determines that an applicant is inadmissible solely because the applicant is likely to become a public charge, the applicant may be given an opportunity to post a financial bond where the law permits.
The new framework gives immigration officers broader discretion to consider the circumstances of individual applicants when making these determinations.
DHS said the changes are designed to bring public charge assessments closer to the wording of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which requires officers to consider the five statutory factors but does not limit them to those factors.
The department also acknowledged that public charge determinations are inherently individualised and require officers to exercise judgement. USCIS is expected to issue policy and interpretive guidance to help officers apply the revised standard to adjustment-of-status cases.
The new framework will therefore not mean that an applicant automatically fails the green card test because of age, health, income, education or receipt of a particular benefit. Instead, USCIS will assess the available evidence and determine whether, considering the applicant’s circumstances as a whole, the person is likely at any time to become a public charge.
The final rule takes effect on September 18, 2026.
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