Green card rule changes: New US public charge test to assess age, health, finances and more – all you need to know

US Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued new guidance explaining how officers will assess whether green card applicants are likely to become a “public charge,” with broader consideration of government benefits set to take effect on September 18, 2026.

The guidance follows a final rule from the Department of Homeland Security that rescinds the Biden-era 2022 public charge regulations. The new framework will apply to Form I-485 applications subject to the public charge ground of inadmissibility that are postmarked or submitted electronically on or after September 18.

USCIS said officers will assess whether an applicant is likely to become a public charge by considering the five factors specified by Congress : age, health, family status, assets, resources and financial status, and education and skills.

Officers can also consider other relevant evidence when making a case-by-case determination based on the totality of an applicant’s circumstances.

The agency said this can include an applicant's receipt of means-tested public benefits, including cash assistance for income maintenance, housing assistance, food assistance and financial aid for college.

Also read: US visa update: $750 expedite fee expands to six countries for B-1/B-2 applicants; is India on the list?

For benefits received before September 18, 2026, USCIS said officers will consider only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense.

For benefits received on or after September 18, USCIS said it will consider any and all means-tested public benefits as part of the determination.

That represents a major change for applicants whose immigration cases could be affected by the public charge ground.

USCIS said the public charge ground generally applies to people seeking adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident unless Congress has specifically exempted their immigration category.

The categories listed as subject to the rule include several family-based and employment-based applicants, including spouses, children and parents of US citizens; certain relatives of lawful permanent residents; priority workers; professionals with advanced degrees; skilled workers and other workers; investors; and religious workers.

The exemptions include refugees and asylees, certain Afghan and Iraqi nationals who worked with or for the US government, certain Cuban and Haitian entrants, special immigrant juveniles, victims of human trafficking, victims of qualifying criminal activity, certain Violence Against Women Act self-petitioners and applicants for Temporary Protected Status, among others.

Also read: H-1B visa ban in Texas schools? Governor Abbott wants ‘exactly zero’ foreign workers – what Indians should know

Applicants should therefore determine whether their particular immigration category is subject to the public charge ground before assuming the new guidance applies to them.