FGI News and Publications

Adjustment of Status (AOS) Under the Trump Administration: A Significant Shift in USCIS Policy

Foreign nationals may complete the final step of the U.S. Green Card application process by either filing an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or by submitting an Immigrant Visa Application (Form DS 260) with the U.S. Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC).  Recently, there have been some significant policy changes with respect to the Form I-485 application process, or Adjustment of Status (AOS) process, as it is sometimes called. This writing will describe some of the recent policy changes as they relate to the Form I-485 application process.

• New Form I-485 Edition:USCIS will publish a new edition of the Form I-485 application on September 18, 2026. The new Form I-485 edition is to align with the new Public Charge Rule. Older editions of the Form I-485 will be rejected starting September 18, 2026. USCIS examiners may invite foreign nationals to post a public charge bond as assurance that the foreign national will not become a public charge. It is unclear how aggressively USCIS officers will impose a public charge bond, and the amount of such a bond, especially in employment-based cases. (Note:  There is no change to the Form I-485 Supplement J).

• USCIS Policy Memorandum (PM-602-0199): One of the recent developments affecting the AOS (adjustment of status) process is USCIS’s May 2026 Policy Memorandum (PM-602-0199), which fundamentally changes the way USCIS instructs examiners to view the review of Form I-485 applications. The memorandum describes approving a Form I-485 application as being a matter of discretion and administrative grace. The memorandum characterizes the approval of a Form I-485 application as an “extraordinary form of relief” that permits an applicant to avoid the ordinary Form DS-260 application process through the U.S. Department of State (DOS). Although the memorandum does not amend the Immigration and Nationality Act or eliminate the statutory ability of foreign nationals to complete the final step for the Green Card, it signals a change in how USCIS views the Form I-485 application process.  Whether USCIS examiners will enforce this policy with any vigor, particularly with employment-based Form I-485 applications, remains to be seen.

• Denial Notices Issued Without RFE or NOID and Shortened RFE Due Dates:  USCIS recently issued clarification that eligibility for an immigration benefit must be established at the time of filing, and USCIS examiners may issue denial notices without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). Our firm has encountered reduced time periods to respond to RFEs from 87 days down to 33 days, and more frequent issuance of NOIDs, which typically have only 33 days to respond. Given that USCIS mails RFEs and NOIDs to petitioners and applicants (unless the petition or application is electronically filed with USCIS), and that these notices often take two weeks to be received by a petitioner or applicant, this often leaves petitioners and applicants with only a two (2) week period to submit a response.

Given this policy change, it is recommended that foreign nationals maintain nonimmigrant status as long as possible while their Form I-485 applications are pending, so that if the Form I-485 application is denied, the foreign national can work and remain lawfully in the U.S. while he or she sorts out their Green Card case. In addition, foreign nationals pursuing employment-based Form I-485 application processing should use an H or L visa to enter the U.S. after traveling abroad while their Form I-485 application is pending and throughout the adjudication process. If the Form I-485 application is denied and the foreign national does not have valid underlying nonimmigrant status, the foreign national would begin to accrue unlawful presence and may be placed in removal proceedings. Moreover, given various reports, it is advisable to avoid any unnecessary travel while pursuing a Form I-485 application.

• Long Processing Times: Form I-485 application processing times are increasing. In general, processing times for all petition and application types have been increasing under the Trump Administration. USCIS historical data shows that average processing time for employment-based Form I-485 applications increased from approximately 4 months in FY2021 to 10.6 months in FY2025, while family-based adjustment increased from approximately 5 months to 10.2 months over the same period. Currently, for employment-based Form I-485 applications, processing time on the USCIS website indicates 80% of cases are processed anywhere between 9 and 40 months depending on the field office and/or service center.

• Children Who May Age Out: In 2025, USCIS changed how it interpreted the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) and, specifically, how it will calculate the “adjusted age” of a child. Calculating the “adjusted age” under the CSPA is necessary to determine if a child will be eligible to receive a derivative Green Card benefit, even if she or he should turn 21 years of age at some point before or after a Form I-485 application has been submitted to USCIS. As a result of this change, USCIS now uses the Final Action Dates Chart, rather than the Dates for Filing Chart in the Visa Bulletin issued by the DOS each month, to determine when a visa becomes available for purposes of calculating the “adjusted age”  to determine Green Card eligibility. For families with children approaching age 21, the lack of priority date advancement, longer I-485 processing times, and overall uncertainty as to whether filing a Form I-485 application in the future will be permitted are  items to consider and monitor when pursuing the Green Card.

• Public Charge and the New Form I-485. A separate but related development is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s new public-charge framework, which is scheduled to take effect on September 18, 2026. USCIS is expected to implement the new framework through a revised Form I-485 application (See Item #1) containing substantially expanded questions concerning matters relevant to the public-charge determination. Applicants preparing to file around the effective date should carefully confirm which edition of Form I-485 is required and be prepared to address the additional information requested by USCIS, as it relates to the public charge items .

• Mandatory Electronic Filing: On August 10, 2026, USCIS introduced a rule to mandate electronic filing for certain immigration form types. The rule indicates that any forms available for electronic filing for 180 days must be filed electronically. USCIS will notify the public on its website 60 days before requiring electronic filing for a particular form type. The rule is currently undergoing the rulemaking process and is in the notice-and-comment period through October 13, 2026. The Form I-485 application is currently one of the forms that may be filed electronically.

• USCIS Signature Requirements: As of July 10, 2026, petitions and applications with invalid signatures may be denied without the opportunity to make corrections. Therefore, it is  especially important that foreign nationals sign their Form I-485 applications with a “wet-ink” signature, or submit a photocopy of the signed document that contains the “wet-ink” signature. Foreign nationals who submit a photocopy of their original “wet-ink” signature should save the original signed Form I-485 application in the event a USCIS examiner issues an RFE requesting the original “wet-ink” signature page of the Form I-485 application.

• October 2026 Visa Bulletin: There are reports that there may be advancement in the priority dates for various employment-based preference categories with respect to the October 2026 Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin issued by the U.S. Department of State each month informs the public which priority dates are current for the various preference categories, allowing foreign nationals to complete the last step of the U.S. Green Card process by filing a Form I-485 application or pursuing the Form DS 260 application process overseas. It is anticipated there may be priority date advancement because October 2026 is the start of the new fiscal year, and there were fewer immigrant visas issued by U.S. consulates and embassies abroad in the prior fiscal year due to  proclamation(s) and/or announcements that required the suspension of immigrant visa processing for certain individuals from specific   Unused immigrant visas from a prior fiscal year are carried over into the new fiscal year  Since the October 2026 Visa Bulletin is the first one to be issued at the start of the fiscal year, many are monitoring the release of the October 2026 Visa Bulletin for priority date advancement. Foreign nationals inside the U.S. should review the October 2026 Visa Bulletin to see if their priority date may be current to file a Form I-485 application in the month of October 2026. As of the date of this writing, the Department of State had not issued the October 2026 Visa Bulletin.

The content of this article is intended only to provide a general guide to the subject matter. It should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact FGI at info@employmentimmigration.com or (+1) 248.643.4900 for guidance if you have specific questions.Top of Form