The Department of Homeland Security's sweeping new public charge rule officially took effect on September 18, 2026, fundamentally reshaping how immigration officers evaluate green card applications — even as multiple federal lawsuits seek to block its implementation.
DHS is rescinding the 2022 public charge ground of inadmissibility regulations
, replacing the Biden-era framework with a dramatically broader standard that
restores broader discretion for DHS officers to evaluate all pertinent facts
when determining whether an applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on government assistance.
What Changed on September 18
The rescission and guidance went into effect on September 18, 2026; however, the changes are not retroactive. The new policy only applies to adjustment of status (I-485) applications postmarked or e-filed on or after September 18, 2026.
The rule expands the types of public benefits that may be considered. DHS states that an applicant's application for, approval for, certification to receive, or receipt of means-tested public benefits may be considered as part of the public charge analysis. This can include benefits that were generally excluded under the 2022 rule, such as certain Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP, food, and housing benefits.
The most important change is greater officer discretion.
Under the prior 2022 rule,
USCIS operated under a relatively defined framework. Officers considered factors required by the Immigration and Nationality Act, including an applicant's age, health, family status, assets, resources, financial status, education, and skills. The rule also narrowly limited the types of public benefits that could negatively affect a public charge determination.
The new approach, by contrast,
deliberately declines to enumerate specific programs that would count against applicants — granting officers wider discretion with even less regulatory guidance.
Critically,
means-tested public benefits received before September 18, 2026 will continue to be evaluated under the prior framework from the 2022 Final Rule. The expanded treatment of previously excluded means-tested benefits generally applies to benefits received on or after the new rule's effective date.
Lawsuits From States and Cities
The rule's implementation comes just days after a coordinated legal assault was launched on September 14, 2026.
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, is leading a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia in a legal challenge against the Trump administration's new public charge rule. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and seeks to block the rule from taking effect.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is leading Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and two counties — Santa Clara County in California and King County in Washington — in a separate case.
Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the new rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it is arbitrary and capricious, exceeds DHS's statutory authority, and departs from the longstanding meaning of the public charge provision established by Congress.
In a statement, AG James said: "Hardworking families should not be forced to go without the support they need because they fear asking for assistance will get them deported."
She added: "My office fought this exact policy once before and won, and we are leading the nation to ensure the Trump administration cannot inflict this harm on families again."
When the Trump administration introduced a similar rule in 2020, Attorney General James successfully led a coalition in suing to block the measure, a ruling that was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Three federal lawsuits were filed in Manhattan this week to block the DHS rule change.
However,
as of the most recent reporting, no publicly reported court order had blocked the rule, and filing the lawsuits does not by itself suspend the effective date.
The Chilling Effect: Why This Matters Beyond Green Card Applicants
Perhaps the most consequential aspect of this rule change is not how many green cards it will deny but how many people it will frighten away from using benefits they are legally entitled to receive.
DHS projects nearly 950,000 legally eligible immigrants will drop Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP, and housing vouchers out of fear before the rule denies a single green card application.
A 2026 analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that between 1.4 million and 4.1 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees living in households with a noncitizen might quit the program due to the new public charge rule.
The fear extends to families who are not even subject to the rule.
According to 2024 data from the Urban Institute, nearly 24 percent of mixed-status families avoided using public benefits to preserve green card eligibility. Families who will never face the public charge test are also experiencing the chilling effect. Twelve percent of families where everyone is either a green card holder or a U.S. citizen, and 7 percent of families where everyone is a U.S. citizen, also avoided using public benefits because of confusion surrounding who the public charge rule applies to.
The federal government has acknowledged that a previous version of the rule caused benefit disenrollment rates as high as 35 percent among mixed-status families and as high as 60 percent among refugees, according to the attorney general's office.
And
DHS itself projects the chilling effect will cost states $4.05 billion annually in Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program funding and $1 billion annually in SNAP funding nationwide.
What You Should Know: Practical Guidance
Immigration attorneys and advocacy organizations are urging immigrants not to make rash decisions about disenrolling from public benefits. Here are key points to understand:
- The rule is not retroactive.
- Naturalization is not affected.
- Family members' benefits may not count directly.
- Some categories are exempt.
- A new Form I-485 is required.
- Receiving benefits does not automatically mean a denial.
What Comes Next
The legal landscape remains fluid.
The filing of a lawsuit does not by itself stop a federal rule from taking effect. Because a court could still issue an order, anyone filing around the effective date should check USCIS and reliable legal updates immediately before submitting documents.
The coalition is asking a federal judge to declare the 2026 public charge rule unlawful and vacate it, protecting states and their residents from its unlawful harms.
Given the precedent from the first Trump administration — when courts ultimately blocked a similar rule — the outcome of these lawsuits could determine whether the September 18 changes remain in force.
If you or a family member are considering applying for a green card or are uncertain about how the public charge rule affects your immigration case, consult with a qualified immigration attorney before making any decisions about public benefits enrollment. The stakes are too high for guesswork, and the legal landscape may shift rapidly in the weeks ahead.