High ImpactAlert/USCIS

USCIS Revamps Green Card Form I-485 Starting Sept 18 — No Grace Period

August 19, 2026

Effective September 18, 2026

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USCIS is replacing the current Form I-485 on September 18, 2026, with no grace period — meaning applicants who send the wrong version get rejected outright. The biggest change is a revamped public charge section that strips out much of the explanatory guidance that previously lived inside the form instructions. If you're planning to file for adjustment of status, the edition you use could make or break your application.

USCIS is replacing Form I-485 — the application used to apply for a green card from inside the United States — with a new edition dated September 18, 2026. According to reporting by Boundless Immigration, there is no grace period: applicants who submit the old edition on or after that date will have their application rejected outright.

Key Points

What: USCIS is releasing a new edition of Form I-485 (09/18/26), revising the public charge section and its instructions.
Who: Anyone filing to adjust status (apply for a green card) inside the U.S., including employment-based applicants moving from H-1B or F-1/OPT.
When: September 18, 2026 — old forms rejected on or after that date, no grace period.
Impact: Using the wrong edition after the cutoff results in automatic rejection of your green card application.

What's Actually Changing

Most of Form I-485 stays the same. The big revisions are concentrated in Part 9, the public charge section — which asks whether you are likely to become dependent on government assistance.

Boundless reports that USCIS has combined two separate questions about public benefits into a single question: *

Official Source

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland SecurityH-1BF-1H-4