Policy Updates

Immigration Policy Updates

The rules changed several times in 2026. This is where I keep track of the changes that actually affect the cases I handle - what changed, when it takes effect, and what it means if you are already in line. Newest first.

General information, not legal advice about your case. Call me for that: (240) 203-9703.

New public charge rules for green card applications filed on or after September 18, 2026 Posted August 2026

USCIS issued new guidance on the public charge rule - the part of the law that lets the government deny a green card if it decides you are likely to depend on public benefits. It is Policy Alert PA-2026-09, dated August 18, 2026, and it replaces both the 2022 rule and the older 1999 guidance.

The filing date is the thing that matters most. The new guidance applies to adjustment of status applications postmarked or filed electronically on or after September 18, 2026. Applications filed between December 23, 2022 and September 17, 2026 are still decided under the 2022 rules. If your case is already filed, the standard for it does not change.

What it means in practice: the officer looks at the whole picture - age, health, income, education and skills, family size, and use of means-tested public benefits. No single one of those decides the case, with one exception: a missing or insufficient Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) can sink an application on its own. If you are getting ready to file, whether it goes in before September 18 can matter, and benefits you or a family member are enrolled in now that will continue past that date are worth discussing before you file.

Applying from inside the U.S. is now discretionary - USCIS memo of May 21, 2026 Posted May 2026

USCIS issued a policy memorandum, PM-602-0199, telling officers that adjustment of status - applying for your green card from inside the United States - is "a matter of discretion and administrative grace," an extraordinary form of relief that is not meant to take the place of applying at a U.S. consulate abroad.

This does not eliminate marriage-based or family green cards. Those are in the statute and they are still available. What changed is that an officer can agree you qualify and still deny the application, and tell you to go through a consulate instead. That makes things like an overstay, an old immigration violation, work without authorization, or a criminal record count for more than they used to.

What it means in practice: a case now needs a record of your equities, not just proof that you are eligible. Time in the United States, family ties, U.S. citizen children, work history, taxes filed, community and church involvement, hardship to your spouse if you were separated. And for some people the consulate is now the safer route even though it means leaving the country for a while. Which way to go is a case-by-case decision and it is the first thing I look at.

Fiancé(e) visas (K-1): public charge is now a real risk at the interview Posted August 2026

Public charge is not only a green card issue. Consular officers apply it to fiancé(e) visa applicants as well, under the State Department's own guidance, and in 2026 they have been applying it harder - including refusals in cases that would have gone through a few years ago.

The U.S. petitioner's income used to be nearly the whole question. It is not anymore. The officer also weighs the fiancé(e)'s own situation: age, health, education, English ability, work skills, personal savings, and how many children are coming along on K-2 visas. Strong income on the U.S. side helps, but by itself it no longer guarantees the visa.

What it means in practice: the support form for a fiancé(e) visa still asks for income at 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the household size, but coming in closer to 125 percent, with assets documented on top of it, is the safer place to be right now. Outside joint sponsors are given real weight at some consulates and very little at others - the petitioner's own income, or a household member's, is a cleaner showing. And where the fiancé(e)'s own profile is the weak spot, the fix is to build the file up before the interview; after a refusal your options narrow.

Denied applications can now be referred to immigration court - USCIS memo of February 28, 2025 Posted 2025

USCIS issued a policy memorandum, PM-602-0187, on how it decides whether to put someone into removal proceedings. Under it, when USCIS denies an application and the person is not in lawful status at that point, the agency will generally issue a Notice to Appear - the document that starts a case in immigration court. Officers were told they may hold off only in limited and compelling situations, decided one case at a time.

Here is why it matters to ordinary family cases. Take a common situation: someone came in on a tourist visa, stayed past the date on the I-94, later married a U.S. citizen, and filed for a green card from inside the country. Filing does not undo the overstay. If that application is denied, the person is out of status at the moment of denial, and a Notice to Appear can follow from the denial itself.

What it means in practice: a denial is no longer just a lost filing fee and a fresh start. That is the real reason the discretion memo above matters so much - the two work together. It is also why the decision to file from inside the U.S. rather than at a consulate deserves a careful look before anything is filed, and why the weak spots in a case are worth fixing on the front end.