By Zomi Press | Published September 18, 2026
A new Trump administration rule expanding the factors immigration officers may consider when determining whether certain immigrants are likely to become a “public charge” takes effect on September 18, 2026.
The rule could make it more difficult for some applicants to obtain lawful permanent residence, commonly known as a green card, if they receive—or are considered likely to rely on—means-tested public benefits. It also rescinds the narrower public-charge regulations adopted by the Biden administration in 2022.[1]
The policy is already facing federal lawsuits filed by a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia, as well as a separate group of cities and counties. The lawsuits seek to block the rule, but filing a lawsuit does not by itself suspend the policy. Unless a court issues an order preventing enforcement, the rule applies according to its September 18 effective date.[2]
What is a “public charge”?
The public-charge ground of inadmissibility is a provision of federal immigration law that permits the government to deny admission or adjustment of status to certain noncitizens who are determined likely to become dependent on government support.
The concept has existed in federal immigration law since the nineteenth century, although its meaning and application have changed considerably over time.
Under Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, immigration officers must consider several factors when making a public-charge determination:
- Age
- Health
- Family status
- Assets, financial resources and financial status
- Education and skills
- Any required affidavit of support
No single factor—other than the absence of a legally required and sufficient affidavit of support—automatically determines the outcome. Officers must evaluate the applicant’s circumstances as a whole.[3]
What does the new rule change?
The Biden administration’s 2022 rule generally limited benefit-related consideration to:
- Supplemental Security Income, or SSI
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF
- State, tribal, territorial or local cash assistance for income maintenance
- Long-term institutional care paid for by the government
The new Department of Homeland Security rule rescinds most of that framework. Beginning September 18, immigration officers may consider an applicant’s receipt of any means-tested public benefit as one factor in the totality of the applicant’s circumstances.[4]
The new rule does not provide a complete, fixed list of every program that may be considered. Depending on subsequent USCIS guidance and the facts of an individual case, the expanded assessment may reach previously excluded non-cash programs, potentially including:
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP
- Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP
- Housing assistance
- Childcare subsidies
- Women, Infants and Children nutrition assistance, or WIC
- Certain means-tested tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
The final rule expressly states that the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit may be considered in the totality of the circumstances. However, participation in any one program does not automatically result in the denial of a green-card application.[5]
Which immigration applications are affected?
The rule applies to:
- Applications for admission made on or after September 18, 2026
- Applications for adjustment of status postmarked on or after September 18, 2026
- Adjustment applications submitted electronically on or after September 18, 2026
Properly filed adjustment-of-status applications postmarked or electronically submitted before September 18 and still pending on that date are to be adjudicated under the 2022 public-charge framework.[6]
The distinction between applications filed before and after the effective date is therefore important.
Will benefits received before September 18 count?
DHS says benefits received before September 18, 2026, will generally be evaluated under the narrower 2022 rule.
For the period before September 18, officers will generally consider only:
- SSI
- TANF
- State, tribal, territorial or local cash assistance for income maintenance
- Government-funded long-term institutional care
Previously excluded non-cash benefits received only before September 18 generally will not be considered under the expanded standard.
However, when a previously excluded benefit continues on or after September 18, the post-effective-date receipt may be considered. USCIS may also request clarification about whether an applicant continues to receive a particular benefit or has disenrolled.[7]
Do benefits received by children or other relatives count against the applicant?
Generally, no.
The final rule states that a public-charge determination concerns benefits received by the person applying for admission or adjustment of status. Benefits independently received by another family member generally should not be attributed to the applicant.
For example, Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, CHIP or another benefit received by a U.S.-citizen child should not ordinarily be treated as a benefit received by the child’s immigrant parent.
The final rule specifically states that it does not direct officers to consider a family member’s receipt of public benefits unless that family member is also applying for admission or adjustment of status and is independently subject to the public-charge ground.[8]
This is a critical distinction. Families should not assume that every benefit received by a child or another household member will automatically harm an applicant’s immigration case.
However, advocates remain concerned that uncertainty surrounding the rule could discourage mixed-status families from using programs for which their children or relatives are legally eligible.
Does receiving public assistance automatically cause a green-card denial?
No.
Receipt of a means-tested benefit is one factor in a broader, individualized assessment. It does not automatically establish that an applicant is likely to become a public charge.
Officers must consider the totality of the applicant’s circumstances, including health, age, financial resources, family situation, education and employment-related skills.
The new rule nevertheless gives immigration officers considerably more discretion than the 2022 framework. Because the rule does not establish an exhaustive list of benefits or a numerical formula for weighing them, applicants may face greater uncertainty about how USCIS will evaluate individual cases.
Who is subject to the public-charge test?
The public-charge ground most commonly affects certain people applying for:
- Admission to the United States
- Family-based adjustment of status
- Certain employment-based green cards where an affidavit of support is required
- Other immigration classifications subject to Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
The rule does not apply to every immigrant or every green-card applicant.
Who is generally exempt?
Federal law contains important exemptions for several humanitarian and protected immigration categories. Depending on the specific application, exempt groups generally include:
- Refugees
- Asylees
- Certain Afghan and Iraqi special immigrants
- Certain trafficking survivors applying for T status
- Certain crime victims applying for U status
- Certain applicants protected under the Violence Against Women Act
- Special immigrant juveniles
- Other categories specifically exempted by Congress
Refugees and asylees are generally exempt when applying for adjustment of status under the laws governing those classifications. Receiving eligible public benefits therefore does not automatically make a refugee or asylee inadmissible under the public-charge ground.[9]
Because exemptions depend on the legal basis of an individual application, applicants should obtain advice based on their specific immigration category.
Are undocumented immigrants affected?
The claim that undocumented immigrants are entirely unaffected because they cannot receive public assistance is too broad.
Many undocumented immigrants are ineligible for major federal means-tested programs. However, some may qualify for emergency services, state-funded programs or assistance available under specific exceptions. They may also live with U.S.-citizen children or other relatives who qualify for public benefits.
The public-charge test directly applies when a person seeks admission or an immigration benefit subject to that ground of inadmissibility. It is not, by itself, a general test imposed on every undocumented person living in the United States.
Nevertheless, confusion surrounding public charge can create a broader “chilling effect,” causing eligible people—including U.S.-citizen children—to leave or avoid healthcare, nutrition and housing programs out of fear that participation could harm a relative’s immigration case.
Why are states and cities challenging the rule?
On September 14, 2026, a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the rule. A separate lawsuit was filed by six cities and counties, including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle.[10]
The plaintiffs argue that the rule:
- Gives immigration officers excessively broad discretion
- Fails to identify clearly which benefits will be considered
- Departs from the historical and statutory meaning of “public charge”
- Could discourage eligible families from obtaining healthcare, food and housing assistance
- Could shift healthcare and social-service costs to states and local governments
- Violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act
DHS defends the policy as a restoration of broader administrative discretion and the principle that immigrants should be financially self-sufficient.
The courts will determine whether the rule complies with federal immigration and administrative law. Until a court blocks, modifies or invalidates the rule, applicants should prepare for USCIS to apply it according to its stated effective date.
Why are immigrant advocates concerned?
Advocates fear that the rule’s broad language will cause immigrants and mixed-status families to withdraw from public programs—even when the person receiving the benefit is exempt from public-charge review or is a U.S. citizen.
DHS itself acknowledged that the rule could reduce participation in public-benefit programs among noncitizens and U.S. citizens living in mixed-status households.[11]
Experience under the first Trump administration’s 2019 rule demonstrated that public-charge policies can affect families beyond those legally subject to the test. Fear and misinformation may lead parents to discontinue children’s healthcare, food assistance, or other essential services unnecessarily.
The consequences could be particularly serious for limited-English-proficient communities that lack access to reliable immigration counsel or translated government guidance.
What this means for Zomi and other immigrant families
Zomi families frequently include people with different immigration classifications living in the same household. One household may include U.S. citizens, green-card holders, refugees, asylees, visa holders, and relatives with pending immigration applications.
A benefit received by one family member does not automatically become a benefit received by everyone in the household. Likewise, one person’s public-charge exemption does not necessarily extend to another person applying under a different immigration category.
Families should identify:
- Who is applying for the immigration benefit
- What immigration category the person is using
- Whether that category is subject to or exempt from public-charge review
- Who actually applied for and received the public benefit
- What type of benefit was received
- Whether the benefit continued on or after September 18, 2026
- When the adjustment-of-status application was filed
These distinctions can materially affect the legal analysis.
What should immigrant families do now?
Families should not immediately cancel Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, CHIP, housing assistance or another benefit solely because of a social-media post or general fear.
Before enrolling, disenrolling, or filing an immigration application, an affected person should consult:
- A licensed immigration attorney
- A Department of Justice-accredited representative
- A qualified public-benefits counselor familiar with immigration law
Applicants should preserve accurate records showing:
- The name of the benefit recipient
- The benefit program involved
- Enrollment and termination dates
- Whether the assistance was federal, state or local
- The immigration category under which the person is applying
- The filing or postmark date of the immigration application
Families should avoid immigration consultants or “notarios” who are not authorized to provide legal advice.
Key takeaways
- The expanded public-charge rule takes effect September 18, 2026.
- It applies to covered applications for admission made on or after that date and adjustment applications postmarked or electronically submitted on or after that date.
- The rule allows officers to consider a wider range of means-tested public benefits.
- Receipt of a benefit does not automatically lead to denial.
- Benefits received by a child or another relative generally are not attributed to the applicant.
- Refugees, asylees and several other humanitarian categories are generally exempt.
- Benefits received before September 18 are generally evaluated under the narrower 2022 standard.
- Federal lawsuits are seeking to block the rule, but litigation does not suspend it unless a court issues an order.
- Families should obtain individualized legal advice before discontinuing benefits.
This article provides general public information and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration rules, agency guidance, and court orders can change rapidly. Readers should verify current information with USCIS or a qualified immigration attorney before making legal or benefits-related decisions.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility,” Federal Register 91, no. 140, July 20, 2026, effective September 18, 2026, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/20/2026-14539/public-charge-ground-of-inadmissibility.
- Nate Raymond, “States, Cities Sue to Block Trump Immigration Rule on Public Benefits,” Reuters, September 14, 2026, https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/states-cities-sue-block-trump-immigration-rule-public-benefits-2026-09-14/.
- Immigration and Nationality Act § 212(a)(4), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(4), https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1182.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility,” implementation and regulatory-change sections.
- Ibid., DHS response concerning the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit and the totality-of-the-circumstances standard.
- Ibid., “Dates” and “Implementation” sections.
- Ibid., discussion of prospective application and benefits received before or continuing after September 18, 2026.
- Ibid., DHS response clarifying that benefits received by family members generally are not considered in the applicant’s public-charge determination.
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “Public Charge Resources,” https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/public-charge/public-charge-resources; see also 8 U.S.C. § 1159 concerning adjustment of status for refugees and asylees, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1159.
- Raymond, “States, Cities Sue”; Associated Press, “States, Cities Sue over Trump Rule Seeking to Deny Green Cards to Immigrants Using Public Benefits,” September 15, 2026, https://apnews.com/article/95ac8c221f5ded109d36fe13ebd7bc8f.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility,” regulatory-impact discussion acknowledging possible disenrollment among noncitizens and U.S. citizens in mixed-status households.
