The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule in the Federal Register on July 20, 2026, that rescinds the Biden-era 2022 public-charge regulation and replaces it with a broader, more discretionary standard for judging whether an immigrant is likely to become dependent on government support. The change takes effect September 18, 2026, and applies to green card applications filed from inside the US, as well as to people applying for admission as immigrants or nonimmigrants. Anyone with a pending or upcoming US immigration case who has used, or expects to use, public benefits should understand the new rule before that date.
Background
"Public charge" is a longstanding ground of inadmissibility in US immigration law: an officer can deny a green card or visa if they determine the applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on the government for support. The 2022 rule, finalized under the Biden administration, narrowed that test to a short list of benefits — mainly cash assistance for basic living expenses and government-funded long-term institutional care — and required that dependence be the applicant's *primary* means of support before it counted against them. DHS's new rule strikes that 2022 regulation from the Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR 212.20 through 212.23) in its entirety and does not replace it with a fixed list, instead giving USCIS officers discretion to weigh the "totality of the circumstances."
What exactly changed
The word "primarily" is gone from the standard, and the list of benefits an officer can consider expands well beyond cash aid. Under the new framework, USCIS officers may take into account non-cash, means-tested benefits including Medicaid, SNAP (food assistance), CHIP, and means-tested housing assistance, alongside factors such as age, health, family status, income, education and skills — the same broad factors used under a 1999 field guidance that predates the 2022 rule. Only benefits received on or after September 18, 2026 count under the new standard; benefits received before that date continue to be assessed under the outgoing 2022 rule, so past use of, say, Medicaid before the effective date is not retroactively held against an applicant.
Before vs after
- Old (2022 rule): only cash assistance for basic living expenses and government-funded long-term institutional care counted, and only if it was the applicant's primary means of support.
- New (from Sept 18, 2026): officers weigh the "totality of the circumstances," including non-cash means-tested benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP and housing assistance — with no "primarily" threshold.
- Public-charge bonds: a bond posted on or after September 18, 2026 can be breached if the person later receives any means-tested benefit before death, permanent departure, or naturalization.
Who it affects
The rule reaches anyone adjusting status to a green card from inside the United States, and anyone applying for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa where a public-charge determination applies — for example, a work-visa holder filing to adjust status through a US employer, or a family member applying through a US citizen spouse. It does not apply to refugees, asylees, Special Immigrant Juveniles, certain trafficking and crime victims, or applicants under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), who remain exempt from the public-charge ground of inadmissibility. Consular applicants — people applying for a visa at a US embassy abroad rather than adjusting status inside the country — are handled separately by the State Department, which advocacy groups say has already been applying stricter public-charge screening at posts covering roughly 75 countries.
What this means in practice
Anyone with a green card application in progress, or planning to file one, should check whether they or a family member on the application have used means-tested benefits and, if so, talk to an immigration attorney about timing. Filing an adjustment-of-status application before September 18, 2026 means it will be assessed under the outgoing 2022 rule; filing on or after that date means the broader standard applies, including a required new edition of Form I-485 that USCIS has said it will publish before the effective date — older editions will not be accepted once the new one is required. People planning a US move who are researching visa pathways can start with GoMate's [United States country guide](/country-guides/united-states) for the wider entry and residency picture.
When it takes effect
September 18, 2026. The rule applies to adjustment-of-status applications postmarked or filed electronically on or after that date, and to admission applications made on or after that date. Benefits received before September 18, 2026 are still judged under the 2022 rule.
What is not yet confirmed
USCIS has not yet published the exact edition date of the revised Form I-485 that will be required from the effective date, and detailed field guidance for officers applying the new "totality of the circumstances" test has not been released. Both are expected before September 18, 2026.
Key Takeaway
If you are adjusting status inside the US and have used, or may need to use, means-tested public benefits, filing before September 18, 2026 puts your case under the more limited 2022 standard rather than the new, broader one.