US rescinds the 2022 public charge rule, making a revised Form I-485 mandatory from 18 September 2026
Immigration-filing teams must switch to the revised Form I-485 from 18 September 2026, as older versions submitted on or after that date will be rejected
Change
On 16 July 2026, the Department of Homeland Security issued a final rule rescinding the 2022 public charge regulation, so U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers will assess all factors case-by-case in public charge inadmissibility determinations under the Immigration and Nationality Act; the rule takes effect 18 September 2026 and requires a revised Form I-485, with older versions submitted on or after that date no longer accepted.
Why it matters
The rescission removes the 2022 regulation's restrictions on which public benefits DHS could weigh in a public charge inadmissibility determination, returning officers to a case-by-case assessment of all pertinent facts for applicants for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status. The operative change for filers is the form cutover: USCIS will issue a revised Form I-485, and older versions postmarked or submitted electronically on or after the 18 September 2026 effective date will be rejected. Applications prepared on the current form must therefore be filed and accepted before the effective date, or refiled on the revised version.
Implications
- — Corporate immigration, university international-student, and law-firm filing teams must move all adjustment-of-status filings to the revised Form I-485 for submissions postmarked or filed electronically on or after 18 September 2026 — older versions submitted on or after that date will be rejected, so in-progress applications on the current form must be filed and accepted before the effective date or rebuilt on the revised form.
- — Immigration-compliance teams preparing public charge documentation must account for the broader case-by-case assessment restored by the rescission — with the 2022 restrictions on considerable benefits removed, evidence packages assembled under the narrower 2022 standard may no longer reflect the factors an officer will weigh from 18 September 2026.
- — Case-management and intake teams must re-time filing queues around the 18 September 2026 cutover to avoid submitting soon-to-be-rejected form versions, and confirm the revised Form I-485 is in use before that date rather than after a rejection.
Who is affected
- — Corporate immigration and law-firm adjustment-of-status filing teams
- — University and employer international-status compliance teams
- — Immigration case-management and intake teams
What to watch
- — Effective: 18 September 2026 — the final rule takes effect and the revised Form I-485 becomes mandatory; older versions postmarked or submitted electronically on or after this date will not be accepted.