Latest on Public Charge
Last updated: July 16, 2026
On July 20, 2026, the federal government will officially announce that they are rescinding (un-doing) the current DHS rule on public charge. Our current rule came into effect in 2022 and guides inadmissibility determinations for cases decided by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The government is not replacing the current, 2022 rule with a new rule, it is just taking away the 2022 rule. That leaves us with the statute (Immigration and Nationality Act) and whatever policy guidance the government may later release on public charge.
The rescission is NOT in effect yet. The rescission takes effect on September 18, 2026. USCIS announced that it will publish a revision of the I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. The final rule will apply to applications for adjustment that are postmarked or electronically submitted on or after September 18, 2026. The announcement also states that it will apply to benefits used after that date.
Certain key points about public charge remain true, even without the 2022 rule. Public Charge only applies to certain immigration applications. It only applies in some applications to get a green card (lawful permanent residence) or to immigrate to the United States. Additionally, public charge immigration policy never alters immigrant eligibility for public benefits.
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.
What will change
USCIS’s explanation for the recission states that it is removing the limitations on which public benefits may be considered in a public charge inadmissibility determination and is moving away from a bright-line test of primary dependence on a cash benefit. The rescission will allow officers to consider the use of public benefits, including non-cash benefits that are means-tested. USCIS states that public charge determinations will be based on an evaluation of the totality of the circumstances that includes the mandatory statutory factors in INA 212(a)(4)(B) (age, health, family status, assets, resources, and financial status and education and skills), the receipt of means-tested benefits and “any other individualized case-specific factors relevant to a [noncitizen’s] case” as well as, “any empirical data relevant to a [noncitizen’s] self-sufficiency.”
The rule states that any public charge bond posted on or after September 18, 2026 will be breached if the bonded person receives any means-tested benefit prior to death, permanent departure, or naturalization, “or is otherwise noncompliant with any conditions of the public charge bond.”
USCIS is expected to issue new guidance explaining how they will assess public charge after our current rule is rescinded. We expect them to consider many public benefits and health programs as negative factors, in addition to other factors like size of family and age.
Until then, the 2022 rule remains 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. 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. Applications filed before September 18, 2026 will be assessed under the 2022 rule.
Various groups are planning to sue, challenging the rescission of the 2022 rule. Once the rescission takes effect, which programs count and definitions around public charge may be uncertain or in flux. 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. 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 that went into effect on January 21, 2026. The pause (referred to by some as a “travel ban”) does 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. Applicants for a green card who are consular processing abroad and who are from one of the affected countries may still be interviewed at the consulate but will not be issued a visa while the ban remains in effect. This visa ban does not apply to those who are applying for green cards at USCIS within the United States, it only applies to those who are applying for a green card and will attend their green card interview at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad. A lawsuit is currently pending, challenging this visa ban, CLINIC et al. v. Rubio et al. For more updates on the lawsuit, filed by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and others, see NILC’s page here.
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.