Several green card updates in 2026 change how you file, pay, and keep working while your case is pending. USCIS no longer accepts checks or money orders for most paper filings, the automatic 540-day extension of employment authorization has ended for new renewal filings, premium processing costs more, and the public charge rule is under review. A separate policy shift changes how a child’s age is calculated under the Child Status Protection Act. Each of these has a filing consequence, and missing one can cost time, money, or the case itself.
Checks and Money Orders Are No Longer Accepted
Starting October 28, 2025, USCIS stopped accepting checks, money orders, and cashier’s checks for paper filings unless the applicant qualifies for a specific exemption.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Transition to Electronic Payments Policy Alert If you mail a money order with an I-485 packet in 2026, expect the entire package returned without processing.
The accepted options for paper filings are now a credit or debit card using Form G-1450, or a direct bank transfer using Form G-1650.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1450 Authorization for Credit Card Transactions The card must be issued by a U.S. bank. If the card is declined, USCIS rejects the application without a second attempt. Check your available balance before you mail.
The Automatic EAD Extension Has Ended
This is the most disruptive change for people already in the green card pipeline. DHS published an interim final rule ending the automatic 540-day extension of employment authorization documents for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. DHS Ends Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Under the old policy, if your EAD expired while your renewal sat with USCIS, you could keep working for up to 540 days. That safety net is gone for new renewal filings.
Two carve-outs remain. Automatic extensions provided by law or through a Federal Register notice for Temporary Protected Status documentation are preserved.4Federal Register. Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents Renewals that were properly filed before October 30, 2025, still receive the 540-day extension under the prior rules.
Anyone renewing in 2026 faces a possible gap in work authorization if USCIS takes longer to adjudicate the renewal than the time left on the current EAD. File the renewal as early as USCIS allows. Waiting until the last few months before expiration is no longer safe.
2026 Filing Fees
The fee structure USCIS introduced on April 1, 2024, remains in effect for the core adjustment application. Form I-485 costs $1,440 for most applicants. Children under 14 whose application is filed alongside a parent’s I-485 pay a reduced rate of $950.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule Fees for work and travel permits are no longer bundled into the I-485 cost. You pay separately for each.
Form I-765 (work authorization) costs $260 for paper or online filing if you have a pending I-485 with a fee paid on or after April 1, 2024. Without a pending I-485, the standalone rate is $520 for a paper filing or $470 online. Form I-131 (advance parole for travel) costs $630 by paper or $580 online.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule Both permits need periodic renewal while your case is pending, so the costs recur.
Premium Processing Increase
Effective March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for expediting a Form I-140 employment-based petition rose to $2,965.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees Premium processing is not available for the I-485 itself. Employment-based applicants who need faster action can use it at the I-140 stage, which establishes the priority date and moves the case forward. Filing Form I-907 commits USCIS to acting on the petition within a guaranteed timeframe: an approval, denial, notice of intent to deny, or request for evidence. It does not guarantee approval.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request for Premium Processing Service
Public Charge Rule Is Under Review
The 2022 public charge final rule remains in effect as of early 2026. Under that rule, officers look at whether an applicant has received Supplemental Security Income or long-term government-funded institutional care. Non-cash benefits such as food assistance and housing subsidies are explicitly excluded from the evaluation.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Clarifying the 2022 Public Charge Final Rule
That framework may not last. In November 2025, DHS published a proposed rule to rescind the 2022 regulations entirely.9Regulations.gov. Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility The comment period closed in late 2025. The 2022 rule still governs adjudications, but the definition of public charge and which benefits count could shift once a final replacement rule is published. If you used non-cash benefits, current rules protect you from having those benefits held against you. That protection may narrow.
Under either version, officers evaluate the totality of circumstances: age, health, family size, education, skills, and financial resources. The inquiry is forward-looking. It focuses on whether you are likely to need government support in the future, not just whether you have received it in the past.
CSPA Age Calculation Uses Final Action Dates
Children listed as derivative beneficiaries on a parent’s green card petition can age out if they turn 21 before a visa number becomes available. The Child Status Protection Act provides a formula: your age on the date a visa number becomes available, minus the number of days the underlying petition was pending, equals your CSPA age.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas If the result is under 21, you still qualify as a child. You must also seek permanent residency within one year of the visa number becoming available.
A policy change effective August 15, 2025, affects how the “visa availability” date in that formula is determined. USCIS now uses the Final Action Dates chart of the Visa Bulletin for CSPA age calculations, aligning its approach with the Department of State.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Updates Policy on CSPA Age Calculation For applications that were already pending before August 15, 2025, USCIS applies the earlier policy that was in effect when the applicant filed. The Dates for Filing chart typically shows earlier dates, and using it would have locked in a younger CSPA age for some applicants. Families with children approaching 21 should look closely at how this shift affects their specific case.
Medical Exam Validity
Every applicant adjusting status inside the United States must complete a medical examination with a USCIS-designated civil surgeon and submit Form I-693. For examinations completed on or after November 1, 2023, the results remain valid for the entire time the underlying application is pending with USCIS. Exams completed before that date follow the older rule of a two-year validity period from the civil surgeon’s signature.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 4 – Review of Medical Examination Documentation For anyone whose case is stuck in a backlog, the exam no longer expires mid-adjudication.
The civil surgeon must verify that you are current on all age-appropriate vaccinations required by the CDC.13Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccination Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons Bring whatever vaccination records you have, including specific dates of each dose. Records without dates are not accepted. Civil surgeon fees are not regulated and vary widely, so it pays to compare providers.
2026 Poverty Guidelines for the Affidavit of Support
Most family-sponsored applicants and some employment-based applicants need a financial sponsor who files Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. The sponsor must show household income at or above 125% of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size. Active-duty military members sponsoring a spouse or child only need to meet 100%.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-864 Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
For 2026, the 125% threshold for a household of two in the 48 contiguous states is $27,050 per year.15HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines Each additional household member raises the required income. If the sponsor falls short, they can use assets to close the gap: qualifying assets must generally equal at least five times the shortfall between actual income and the required threshold. That multiplier drops to three times when a U.S. citizen sponsors a spouse or an adult child. A joint sponsor with sufficient income is another option.
Two Reminders That Sink Cases Every Year
Two rules aren’t new in 2026, but they cause preventable losses often enough that any 2026 filer should be reminded of them.
Leaving the country while your I-485 is pending, without an approved advance parole document, is generally treated as abandonment of the application.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-131 Application for Travel Documents A narrow set of visa holders (H-1, H-4, L-1, L-2, K-3, K-4, and V) can travel and return on valid status, but only if they remain eligible for and are admitted in that classification on return. When in doubt, get the advance parole document first.
Federal regulations require you to report any change of address within 10 days of moving.17eCFR. 8 CFR 265.1 – Reporting Change of Address The Enterprise Change of Address tool inside myUSCIS updates your address across all pending forms at once. A missed interview notice can lead to administrative closure or denial, and that is one of the most avoidable ways a case falls apart.