Latest on Public Charge
Last updated: August 25, 2026
On July 20, 2026, the federal government announced that they are rescinding (taking away) the current DHS rule on public charge, which guides inadmissibility determinations for cases decided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On August 18, 2026, USCIS published guidance for how adjudicators will assess applications for public charge after the rule is rescinded. Because USCIS is not replacing the 2022 rule, once the rescission takes effect we will be left with the statute (Immigration and Nationality Act) and guidance issued by USCIS.
The new USCIS guidance makes it clear that the agency will consider many more public benefits when assessing public charge. This can include any means-tested benefit including Medicaid, food stamps, and financial aid for college, among others. The guidance also allows adjudicators to consider the means-tested benefits that certain family members of applicants receive, even where the applicant doesn’t receive benefits themselves.
The rescission and guidance are NOT in effect yet. They will take effect on September 18, 2026. Until then, the 2022 rule and accompanying guidance remain in place. Under the 2022 rule many programs do not raise public charge concerns, including: health care programs like Medicaid and COVID care, housing, nutrition programs, and many other vital services. Under the 2022 rule only applicants deemed likely to become primarily dependent on cash aid for income maintenance or long-term care at government expense could be denied for public charge.
Anyone who files their green card application with USCIS before September 18, 2026 (or already has a pending application that was filed before this date) will be decided based on the 2022 policy. However, for pending applications, USCIS can still consider the means-tested benefits that are received after September 18, 2026 as part of the “totality of the circumstances.”
Certain key points about public charge remain true, even without the 2022 rule. The public charge test only applies to some programs and some immigrants:
- It never applies to U.S. citizens
- It also doesn’t apply to most people with a green card, or asylees, refugees, people with U visas, T visas, VAWA, and many others.
Additionally, changes to public charge immigration policy never alter immigrant eligibility for public benefits. Public charge decisions happen when someone applies for their green card or to immigrate to the United States.
It is likely that various groups are planning to sue, challenging the rescission of the 2022 rule. Check back for updates at https://www.ilrc.org/pc-updates.
Consular processing warning: Those who will be leaving the United States to apply for their green cards abroad, at a U.S. consulate or embassy, should be aware that the Department of State has already issued new guidance that will likely expand the number of individuals who are denied a visa for public charge. Now that the USCIS guidance is out, we expect that we will see more changes within the Department of State as well. If you will be leaving the United States to consular process, check in with a trusted advocate before leaving the country. To find free or low-cost immigration legal advice, go to ilrc.me/gethelp.
Additionally, in early 2026 the Department of State announced a pause on visa issuance for individuals from 75 countries (full list below) based on purported public charge concerns. The pause (referred to by some as a “travel ban”) did not involve an individualized assessment, but rather a blanket ban on individuals from these countries based on the government’s view that people from these countries are at “high risk” of becoming a public charge. On August 21, 2026, a federal court struck down this pause as unlawful. For more updates on this case, CLINIC et al. v. Rubio et al., see NILC’s page here. Note the visa ban did not apply to those who were applying for green cards at USCIS within the United States, it only applied to those who were applying for a green card and would attend their green card interview at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad.
List of countries affected by this visa ban: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.