On September 3, 2026, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and immigration law firm Benach Pitney Reilly sued the Trump administration for “implementing substantive form changes again, without warning, that will harm potentially thousands of AILA members and their clients.” The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia.
In a press release, AILA alleged that late on August 31, 2026, “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that as of that day, new editions of the forms I-864 [Affidavit of Support], I-864A, and I-864EZ would be required without exception—potentially leading to the rejection of countless applications. In violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), and longstanding agency practice, no notice was given and no grace period was implemented; USCIS only informed the public of these changes via the ‘Forms Update Alert’ after 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the day they would take effect. To make matters even more alarming, form errors on the USCIS website created additional barriers to compliance.”
The USCIS I-864 webpage, updated on September 4, 2026, now states that “USCIS is providing a 30-day grace period during which we will accept the 10/17/24 edition of Form I-864. Beginning Oct. 1, 2026, we will only accept the 08/24/26 edition of Form I-864. USCIS will not process any 10/17/24 edition of Form I-864 postmarked or electronically submitted on or after Oct. 1, 2026.”
