New Green Card Rules in October 2026: Every Change Employment-Based Applicants Need to Know

Seven employment-based green card changes took effect or were scheduled this fall, and two of them can get an I-485 rejected at intake before anyone reads it.

The new green card rules for employment-based applicants in October 2026 come down to seven dated changes. The public charge final rule has been in effect since 2026-09-18 and is being challenged in court. USCIS accepts only the 09/18/26 edition of Form I-485, and the I-485 filing location changed on 2026-10-07. All October I-485s use the Dates for Filing chart. The Department of Labor suspended PERM for eight named employers on 2026-10-08. The G-1055 fee schedule edition dated 10/07/26 sets current fees, and an EB-5 fee rule is scheduled for 2026-11-30.

Two of these, the edition and the address, can get an I-485 rejected at intake before an officer reads it. If you are on H-1B or STEM OPT with a PERM, an I-140 or an I-485 ahead of you, the sections below separate what is law today from what is only proposed.

Status line, as of October 14, 2026. In effect: public charge final rule (challenged), 09/18/26 I-485 edition, new I-485 filing location, Dates for Filing chart for October, the 8-employer PERM suspension, the end of automatic EAD extensions (final rule effective on publication, 2026-10-14). Scheduled: USCIS "definition of day" policy (2026-10-23), EB-5 fee rule (2026-11-30). Proposed only: removing deference to prior approvals, and eliminating the 60-day worker grace period. Not published: the November 2026 Visa Bulletin.

None of this is legal advice. This post explains how each change works and where to verify it. Whether any of it changes what you or your employer should file is a question for a licensed immigration attorney.

New green card rules at a glance

As of October 2026:

1. The public charge final rule (in effect, challenged)

The public charge final rule took effect on 2026-09-18 and rescinds the 2022 regulation. According to USCIS's guidance, it applies to adjustment of status filings postmarked or e-filed on or after September 18, 2026. Public benefits received on or after that date can be considered in the inadmissibility determination; USCIS's own examples include cash assistance, housing assistance, food stamps and financial aid for college. Benefits received before September 18 are judged under the 2022 test. A public charge bond on Form I-945 comes up only if USCIS invites one in a Notice of Intent to Deny.

The rule is challenged. States, New York City and advocacy groups sued in the Southern District of New York, but there is no TRO or preliminary injunction, and summary judgment briefing runs to 2027-03-12. Unless a court orders otherwise, the rule applies to covered filings while the case proceeds.

Households differ: a spouse, a child or a past benefit can matter, and that is a fact-specific question for an attorney. If college aid is part of the picture, see how the public charge rule treats financial aid. Our deeper explainer on how the public charge rule works for visa holders walks through the test itself. The official guidance is at USCIS: guidance on making public charge inadmissibility determinations.

2. The 09/18/26 I-485 edition and the new filing location

• Edition: USCIS accepts only the 09/18/26 edition of Form I-485. The 01/20/25 and 09/04/26 editions are rejected if postmarked or submitted on or after 2026-09-18. There is no grace period.
• Location: the I-485 filing location changed on 2026-10-07. A package sent to the prior location is accepted only if it is postmarked by 2026-11-09.

Check the edition date printed on every page, not the PDF's file name. A form saved in August and reused in October is how the wrong edition gets mailed. The current edition, instructions and filing addresses live on the USCIS Form I-485 page. For how addresses differ by category, see our guide to the I-485 filing address by category, and confirm against uscis.gov on the day the package ships.

An online filing has no mailing address, but the public charge date still applies to anything e-filed on or after 2026-09-18. Since 2026-07-24, unrepresented EB-1A and NIW self-petitioners can file I-140 and I-485 together online; our guide to filing I-140 and I-485 together online explains the mechanics.

3. Which green card chart applies in October 2026

Every month, USCIS decides whether I-485 filers use the Final Action Dates chart or the Dates for Filing chart from the State Department's Visa Bulletin. For the summer months, USCIS required Final Action Dates. For October 2026, USCIS requires all employment-based and family-based I-485s to use the Dates for Filing chart.

Dates for Filing cutoffs are usually later, so more people can file. A few values from the October 2026 bulletin, the first of FY2027 (as of October 2026):

Two cautions. First, the November 2026 bulletin had not been published as of this writing, and USCIS lists the November chart as "coming soon," so any November cutoff you see is a forecast (our November 2026 predictions post labels them that way). Second, being able to file under Dates for Filing does not mean a visa number is available for approval; that still depends on the Final Action Date. Our October 2026 Visa Bulletin breakdown covers what reset in FY2027. Check the live USCIS adjustment of status filing charts and the Visa Bulletin on travel.state.gov each month.

4. The DOL PERM suspension of eight employers

On 2026-10-08, the Department of Labor announced it will not accept new, or process pending, PERM labor certifications involving Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini. No end date was stated, and no written DOL notice had been posted as of this writing; the announcement was reported by TechCrunch.

Be precise about the scope:

• It is PERM only. H-1B petitions and H-1B status are not touched by this action. "Microsoft can't sponsor H-1Bs" is false.
• Practitioner analysis (not an agency statement) says approved I-140s are not automatically revoked. The pressure point is H-1B extensions beyond six years, which depend on when a PERM or I-140 was filed or approved.

If your green card runs through one of these employers, where your specific case sits is a question for a licensed immigration attorney, usually starting with your employer's immigration counsel. For the scenario-by-scenario detail, read our breakdown of the PERM suspension and its H-1B impact. DOL's program pages are at dol.gov foreign labor certification, and processing dates are on flag.dol.gov.

5. Fees: what the 10/07/26 G-1055 says, and the EB-5 rule

The current USCIS fee schedule is Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26. As of October 2026:

A separate FY2027 inflation adjustment, scheduled for 2026-10-16, covers asylum, parole, TPS and certain EAD add-on fees; I-140 and I-485 are not on that list. Pay from the live G-1055 on uscis.gov, not an old checklist.

Scheduled: the EB-5 fee final rule takes effect 2026-11-30. Under it, Form I-526 costs $7,615, Form I-526E $7,850, and Form I-829 $5,000. The text is in the Federal Register.

6. Nearby changes that touch green card applicants

These are not green card rules as such, but they reach the same people:

• End of automatic EAD extensions (in effect, final rule 2026-10-14). It applies to renewals filed on or after 2025-10-30. For anyone working on a pending-I-485 (c)(9) EAD, a renewal still pending when the current card expires can now mean a gap in work authorization. The H-4 EAD is not rescinded; only the automatic extension ended. Details are in our explainer on the final rule.
• Removing deference to prior approvals (proposed). Published 2026-10-14; comments are due 30 days after publication, around 2026-11-13. The current deference rule still applies to H-1B and other I-129 extensions (what the proposal would change).
• Eliminating the 60-day worker grace period (proposed). Comments close 2026-11-10. Today's 60-day grace period for H-1B and other workers still applies. This is a different rule from the F-1 grace period.
• "Definition of day" policy (scheduled, 2026-10-23). For paper filings, the weekend and holiday roll-forward applies only to deadlines counted in days. E-filings never roll.

Green card rule changes: old rule, new rule, what to do differently

How the October filing check usually runs

When an employment-based I-485 goes out this month, attorneys and paralegals generally work through these checks in this order:

1. Confirm the chart. Open the USCIS filing charts page and confirm the month still uses Dates for Filing.
2. Confirm the priority date against the right column of the current bulletin for your category and country of chargeability.
3. Confirm the edition. Every page of the I-485 must show 09/18/26.
4. Confirm the address on the I-485 page, and whether the package will be postmarked before or after 2026-11-09 if it is going to the old location.
5. Confirm the fee against the 10/07/26 G-1055, paper or online.
6. Review public charge facts with counsel, because any filing postmarked on or after 2026-09-18 falls under the new rule.
7. Check EAD renewal timing, since automatic extensions ended with the 2026-10-14 final rule.

Common mistakes

• Mailing a saved PDF of an old I-485 edition. It is rejected at intake with no grace period.
• Using a November cutoff from a prediction site. The November bulletin was not published as of this writing.
• Reading the PERM suspension as an H-1B ban. It is PERM only. Your H-1B status is not ended by it.
• Treating proposals as law. The deference removal and the worker grace period elimination are proposed, with open comment periods.
• Confusing Final Action Dates with Dates for Filing. EB-2 Rest of World's 2025-01-01 is the Final Action Date; 2026-03-15 is the Dates for Filing.
• Assuming the public charge lawsuit paused the rule. There is no TRO or injunction.

Frequently asked questions

What are the new green card rules in October 2026

Public charge (in effect since 2026-09-18, challenged), the 09/18/26 I-485 edition, the new I-485 filing location from 2026-10-07, the Dates for Filing chart for October, the PERM suspension of eight employers (2026-10-08) and the 10/07/26 G-1055 fees. The EB-5 fee rule is scheduled for 2026-11-30.

Which edition of Form I-485 does USCIS accept now

Only the 09/18/26 edition, with no grace period for older editions. Packages sent to the prior filing location are accepted if postmarked by 2026-11-09.

Does the DOL PERM suspension affect my H-1B status

It covers PERM only. H-1B petitions and status are not touched by it, but PERM timing can matter for extensions beyond six years, which is a question for a licensed immigration attorney.

Which Visa Bulletin chart should I use for an I-485 in October 2026

Dates for Filing, for all employment-based and family-based I-485s. November cutoffs are forecasts until the bulletin is published.

How much are the I-140 and I-485 filing fees right now

I-140 is $715 paper or $665 online plus the Asylum Program Fee; I-485 is $1,440 paper or $1,390 online, per the 10/07/26 G-1055.

Your own receipt notice, approval notice and attorney's advice govern over anything published here.

A green card case moves on its own clock, but the job that sponsors it is the part you can act on. If you are on OPT, STEM OPT or H-1B and want help finding employers that sponsor, talk to F1Jobs.