Your EB-1A or EB-2 NIW petition didn’t need a job offer. Your green card application may still be asked about one. Since September 18, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has applied a new public charge review to green card applications filed inside the US, and its guidance says an officer may request evidence of prospective employment, “including job offers with estimated salary or wages.” For a self-petitioner with no US employer, that’s a different question from the one the petition answered.
Last updated: November 3, 2026
Key takeaways
- Since September 18, 2026, USCIS applies a new public charge review to green card applications (Form I-485) filed inside the US.
- EB-1A and EB-2 NIW petitions don’t need a job offer, but at the I-485 stage an officer may request evidence of prospective employment, including job offers with estimated salary or wages.
- Self-petitioners usually don’t file Form I-864, so the officer looks mostly at their own income, savings, debts, work history and plans.
- Unemployment or a gap in work is not enough by itself, and a person with low income who is healthy, willing and able to work is generally not likely to become a public charge.
- Applications postmarked or filed online on or after September 18, 2026 must use the 09/18/26 edition of Form I-485. USCIS rejects older editions.
What changed
Public charge is the test of whether someone is likely to depend on government benefits in the future. A new Department of Homeland Security rule replaced the 2022 version, and USCIS rewrote its officer guidance to match. It applies to Form I-485, the application to adjust status to permanent resident, postmarked or filed online on or after September 18, 2026.
The list of benefits that count got longer. Before September 18, only cash assistance for income and long-term care paid by the government counted. From that date on, officers may consider any means-tested benefit, and applying for or being approved for one counts too. The burden of proof stays with the applicant and “never shifts to USCIS.”
Why self-petitioners feel this first
Both green cards let you file Form I-140, the immigrant petition, on your own behalf, with no job offer and no labor certification (EB-1A, EB-2 NIW). The EB-1A asks for evidence that you’ll keep working in your field. The NIW asks whether you’re well positioned to advance your proposed work.
Public charge asks something else: whether you can support yourself and your household. Officers must weigh five factors set by law: age, health, family status, assets and financial status, and education and skills. Under age, the guidance tells officers to “scrutinize” your plans for current and future work in the US.
When an employer sponsors a green card, there’s a job and a salary on paper. In a self-petition, there may be neither. There’s usually no Form I-864, the affidavit of support, either: in employment cases it’s required only when a relative filed the petition or owns 5% or more of the company that did. So the officer looks mostly at your own record.
What an officer may look at
The guidance lists, among other things:
- Your household’s income, including “any evidence… pertaining to expected future income”
- Savings, investments and home equity, minus loans and other debts
- Your employment history and “the arc” of your education, training and job prospects
- Health insurance that would cover your medical costs and isn’t itself a means-tested benefit
- Means-tested benefits applied for, approved or received since September 18, 2026
It also sets limits. Being unemployed, or having a gap in work, “by itself, is insufficient” to find someone a public charge. And a person with low income who is “healthy, willing, and able to work” is “generally not likely” to become one.
In practice: a founder between funding rounds
Say you were born in the UK and have an approved EB-2 NIW for a climate-tech startup you founded. The company hasn’t made revenue yet and pays you a modest salary. Your priority date becomes current and you file your I-485.
Your degrees and track record count under education and skills. The open question is income. If the file doesn’t show how your household’s needs will be covered, an officer may send a Request for Evidence (RFE), a letter asking for more documents, about prospective employment or expected income. The scenarios in the guidance “do not dictate the outcome” of any case, so how far that goes depends on your record.
Four things to know before you file
- The filing date sets the rule. An I-485 postmarked before September 18, 2026 is reviewed under the 2022 rule. One filed on or after that date falls under the new guidance.
- An approved I-140 doesn’t settle public charge. That review happens at the I-485 stage, even when the petition needed no employer.
- Applying counts, not only receiving. For anything on or after September 18, 2026, the guidance treats applying for, being approved for and receiving a means-tested benefit as relevant.
- Use the current form. USCIS only accepts the 09/18/26 edition of Form I-485 for applications postmarked or filed online on or after September 18, 2026, and rejects older editions, with no grace period. If you file by mail, check the new filing addresses: USCIS will accept packages sent to the old addresses only if they’re postmarked by November 9, 2026.
Public charge for EB-1A and NIW: quick answers
When does the new public charge rule apply to my I-485?
It depends on when your I-485 was postmarked or filed online. On or after September 18, 2026, the new rule applies. Between December 23, 2022 and September 17, 2026, the 2022 rule applies.
How does USCIS decide if a self-petitioner is likely to become a public charge?
Officers look at the whole file, case by case, and assess the future rather than the past. They weigh the five factors set by law: age, health, family status, assets and financial status, and education and skills. No single factor decides the case on its own, except a missing affidavit of support when one is required.
Why can USCIS ask about a job offer if my NIW didn’t need one?
The petition and the green card application test different things. Form I-140 looks at your extraordinary ability (EB-1A) or the national interest in your work (NIW). The public charge review at the I-485 stage looks at whether you can support yourself, and the guidance lets officers request evidence of prospective employment, including job offers with estimated salary or wages.
Do I need Form I-864 for an EB-1A or NIW green card?
Usually not. In employment-based cases, the affidavit of support is required only when a relative filed the immigrant petition or owns 5% or more of the company that filed it. Without one, the officer relies mostly on your own income, assets and record.
Can a low income or a gap in work lead to a public charge denial?
Being unemployed, or having a gap in work, is not enough by itself, according to the guidance. It also says a person with low income who is “healthy, willing, and able to work” is generally not likely to become a public charge. The officer still weighs everything in the file together.
Can USCIS deny on public charge without asking first?
The guidance says officers “may” send an RFE or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID), a warning before a denial. A NOID is required when the decision relies on information you weren’t aware of. USCIS has also said it may deny petitions without an RFE when required evidence is missing.
Does this apply if I’m getting my green card from abroad?
This USCIS guidance covers green card applications filed inside the US. Immigrant visas issued at a US consulate follow the Department of State’s own manual.
Read your file the way an officer will
The guidance gives officers a list: income, savings, debts, work history, plans for the future. It doesn’t tell you how your own file reads against that list. Jumpstart’s methodology is trained directly on USCIS adjudicator decisions, so we look at a self-petitioner’s record from the officer’s side before the I-485 is filed. Independent immigration attorneys handle the legal work.
*This article is general information, not legal advice. Jumpstart is not a law firm; legal services are provided by independent licensed attorneys. Immigration rules change often; check the date and the official sources linked.
