The bottom line. DHS is rescinding the 2022 public charge regulations and, effective September 18, 2026, will let officers weigh an applicant's receipt of any means-tested public benefit—not just cash aid—when deciding whether someone is "likely at any time to become a public charge."

The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule in the Federal Register on July 20, 2026 (91 FR 45324) rescinding the 2022 public charge ground of inadmissibility framework built under 8 CFR parts 103 and 212. USCIS, which issued the rule, says the 2022 approach was "unduly restrictive" and inconsistent with congressional intent, and that removing it restores broad, case-by-case officer discretion.

DHS received 8,846 comments, the majority opposing the rule, and finalized it as proposed. The rule is a major rule subject to congressional review and takes effect 60 days after publication. It applies to applications for admission made on or after September 18, 2026, and adjustment-of-status applications postmarked or electronically submitted on or after that date.

DHS said the change lets officers make "highly individualized, fact-specific, case-by-case" determinations.

What the Rule Changes

The public charge ground makes an applicant for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status inadmissible if an officer concludes they are likely at any time to become a public charge. By statute, officers must at minimum weigh age; health; family status; assets, resources and financial status; and education and skills, and may consider a Form I-864 Affidavit of Support. The 2022 rule limited officers to those factors plus receipt of two benefit types—public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense.

The final rule removes the regulatory definitions, the primary-dependence standard, and the limited benefit list. Under the new approach, officers may consider an applicant's receipt of any means-tested public benefit—including Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP, WIC, and federal housing assistance—alongside any other case-specific evidence. DHS states receipt of a benefit is never, by itself, determinative; it is one element in the totality of the circumstances.

Transition Rules and What Counts

The rule applies prospectively. Means-tested benefits previously excluded under the 2022 rule will not be counted if received before September 18, 2026; for that earlier period, only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense will be considered. Benefits received on or after the effective date fall within the broader scope. DHS states it will generally not attribute benefits received by an applicant's family members—including U.S. citizen children—to the applicant, though a legally obligated applicant's low income that leads to a family member's benefit receipt may be weighed as part of assets and financial status.

Instead of issuing replacement regulations, USCIS says it will publish subregulatory guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to guide, but not prescribe, officer determinations.

Public Charge Bonds

The rule also amends bond provisions at 8 CFR 103.6(c). For bonds submitted on or after September 18, 2026, receipt of any means-tested public benefit—or noncompliance with any bond condition—constitutes a breach. Bonds submitted before that date are governed by the 2022 standard, under which breach turns on public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization. Breach determinations may be appealed by a surety or by the affected individual.

Sector Concerns

Commenters, including healthcare providers, state agencies, and advocacy groups, warned of a "chilling effect" prompting eligible people—including U.S. citizen children in mixed-status households—to disenroll from benefits. DHS itself estimates the rule could reduce federal and state transfer payments by roughly $13.05 billion annually, affecting an estimated 1.27 million individuals, and acknowledges possible downstream effects on public health, hospitals, and local economies. DHS maintains the rule does not change benefit eligibility and that its self-sufficiency objective outweighs those effects.

Who Is Affected and Who Is Exempt

The ground applies to applicants for visas, admission, and adjustment of status who are not statutorily exempt. Congress exempts many humanitarian categories, including refugees and asylees adjusting status, VAWA self-petitioners, and T and U nonimmigrants, as well as certain Cuban and Haitian adjustment applicants. DHS removed the regulatory list of exemptions and waivers but states the statutory exemptions remain in effect and will be reflected in the Policy Manual and on Form I-485.

What This Means Right Now

  • Adjustment applicants filing on or after September 18, 2026 generally face a broader review in which any means-tested benefit received on or after that date may be weighed, though no single factor is decisive.

  • Benefits received before the effective date generally are not counted, except public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense.

  • Applicants in statutorily exempt categories—such as refugees, asylees, VAWA self-petitioners, and most T and U cases—remain outside the public charge ground.

  • Individuals under public charge bonds signed on or after the effective date generally breach the bond if they receive any means-tested benefit during its term.