• Imposes stricter self-sufficiency standards for green-card applicants; revised Form I-485 from Sept 18 • Duration-of-status rules end on Sept 15
• USCIS officers now hold power to reject incomplete filings

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has tightened US immigration rules, putting green-card applicants under greater scrutiny, imposing new time limits on foreign students and journalists and giving immigration officers more power to deny applications.

The latest change came on Wednesday, when US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would replace the application used by eligible immigrants in the United States to seek permanent residence.

The revised Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, will become mandatory on Sept 18, when a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule on public-charge inadmissibility takes effect. USCIS said there will be no grace period for the new form.

The new public-charge guidance gives immigration officers a broader framework for deciding whether a person applying for adjustment of status is likely to become a “public charge” — in plain English, someone who is likely to become dependent on government assistance.

USCIS says officers will consider the applicant’s circumstances as a whole and examine the relevant factors and evidence in determining whether the person is likely to become a public charge. Some categories of immigrants are exempt from the public-charge ground of inadmissibility.

The department said the new approach is intended to reinforce the statutory requirement that immigrants be self-sufficient rather than primarily dependent on taxpayer-funded benefits. The rule takes effect Sept. 18.

New green-card application

For immigrants preparing to file for adjustment of status, the most immediate consequence is a change in the paperwork. USCIS said the Sept 18, 2026 edition of Form I-485 will replace the current Jan 20, 2025 edition.

“The agency will accept the old edition if it is postmarked or electronically submitted before Sept.18,” USCIS stated in its announcement. “It will reject the old edition if it is submitted on or after that date. The new edition, meanwhile, should not be filed before Sept. 18.”

The distinction is important because Form I-485 is used by eligible immigrants already in the United States to adjust their status to lawful permanent resident.

It is not the form used by every person seeking a US green card; people applying for immigrant visas through US consulates abroad generally follow a different process.

Students and journalists

The green-card changes come as the administration is also altering the rules governing foreign students, exchange visitors, and representatives of foreign media.

A separate DHS final rule will replace the long-standing “duration of status” system for F, J, and I non-immigrants with fixed periods of admission and new extension procedures. The rule takes effect on Sept 15.

Under the new system, students and exchange visitors will no longer simply remain in the United States for the duration of their programme under the old D/S designation. Instead, they will receive a fixed period of admission and, when necessary, will have to seek an extension.

Foreign media representatives are also covered by the change. The new rule replaces D/S admissions for the I classification with fixed periods and additional requirements, rather than the previous open-ended duration-of-status arrangement.

The administration says the changes will provide greater oversight and allow DHS to determine more closely whether foreign students, exchange visitors, and media representatives are maintaining their immigration status.

Less room for incomplete applications

The administration has also moved to give USCIS officers greater discretion when deciding whether immigration benefit requests have established eligibility.

Earlier this month, USCIS said applicants and petitioners must provide the evidence needed to establish eligibility and reminded officers that they may deny certain benefit requests without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) in circumstances where the law does not provide a basis for approval or required initial evidence is missing.

That does not mean USCIS has eliminated RFEs or that every incomplete application will automatically be denied. The agency’s existing policy still provides for RFEs in appropriate cases.

Taken together, the changes represent a significant shift in the administration’s approach to legal immigration: greater scrutiny of financial circumstances for some green-card applicants, tighter monitoring of temporary immigration status, and greater emphasis on applicants establishing eligibility with their initial filings.

For people preparing to apply for permanent residence from inside the United States, however, the immediate message from Wednesday’s USCIS announcement is simple: if they file Form I-485 on or after Sept 18, they must use the new edition of the form.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2026