{
  "id": 7919443,
  "title": "US Green Card new rules take effect. What to know?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/us-green-card-new-rules-take-effect-what-to-know",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T16:36:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times",
    "slug": "the-economic-times",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/us-green-card-new-rules-take-effect-september-18-what-indian-applicants-need-to-know/articleshow/134292294.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Beginning September 18, 2026, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will introduce revised guidelines for evaluating the likelihood of Green Card applicants becoming public charges. This shift marks a departure from the 2022 public charge regulations, which have been rescinded. The updated assessment will examine five key factors: age, health, family status, assets, resources and financial status, and education and skills. Officers may also take into account other pertinent circumstances.\n\nThese new regulations will permit USCIS officers to consider a wider array of means-tested public benefits received post-September 18, such as cash, housing, and food assistance. However, the mere receipt of such benefits does not guarantee a denial of a Green Card; the overall circumstances of the applicant will be taken into account. Prior to the updated guidance, officers could consider public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense.\n\nIndian nationals with Green Card applications affected by the public charge ground of inadmissibility are particularly impacted by these changes. This includes various family-based and employment-based categories. For employment-based applicants, USCIS could factor in aspects like financial circumstances, education, skills, employment history, and employment prospects. However, certain groups, such as specific refugees, asylees, VAWA self-petitioners, and victims of human trafficking or qualifying criminal activity, remain exempt from the public charge ground.\n\nUSCIS may also evaluate the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) in appropriate cases. In instances where an applicant is found inadmissible solely due to a likelihood of becoming a public charge, they may be offered a public charge bond. The bond's amount hinges on the case's specifics and the government assistance the applicant might be eligible for over the subsequent five years. Applicants are unable to submit the bond beforehand; USCIS will first invite them to submit Form I-945 through a Notice of Intent to Deny.\n\nThis revised rule has been met with legal challenges from 23 US states, the District of Columbia, and six cities and counties. These lawsuits argue that the rule may deter some immigrants from obtaining Green Cards, visas, or entry into the United States if they are deemed likely to depend on government benefits. The lawsuits are currently pending, but the rule is set to commence on September 18, 2026, unless a court intervenes to halt or alter its implementation.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}