On July 16, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has issued a final rule rescinding a 2022 regulation regarding public charge determinations. DHS said the rule “ensures that officers can make highly individualized, fact-specific, case-by-case public charge inadmissibility decisions based on the totality” of each person’s individual circumstances. “This approach will prevent the application of overly restrictive criteria that straitjackets DHS officers’ ability to make public charge inadmissibility determinations.”
DHS said that the rule applies to applications for admission made on or after September 18, 2026, or applications for adjustment of status postmarked or electronically submitted on or after that date. Receipt of means-tested public benefits before September 18, 2026, will be considered consistent with the 2022 final rule, DHS said.
The agency plans to publish a revised Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Older versions of Form I-485 postmarked or submitted electronically on or after the effective date will not be accepted, DHS noted.
