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10 Oct 2026
PERM suspension US Capitol Washington

US Suspends Microsoft, Adobe and IT Firms From PERM

Categories Immigration, Visa Updates

The US government is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several major IT services firms from the PERM labour certification process used to sponsor green cards, according to Al Jazeera. Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling announced the move at a White House news conference on Thursday 8 October 2026. This PERM suspension could leave tens of thousands of foreign workers waiting longer, the report says, though no policy text has been published.

In this report

What was announced

Per Al Jazeera, the US will not process new or pending PERM applications involving the named companies, and Vance said the suspensions would last “as long as it needs to”. Al Jazeera lists Microsoft and Adobe (US), Capgemini (France), and Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and HCL Technologies (India). It says Meta, Amazon and Google are not affected. A second Al Jazeera report describes the action as a suspension from the H-1B programme and adds that a separate J-1 visa fraud crackdown targets nine universities. The two reports describe the programme differently and neither links to an official document, so the precise legal scope is unconfirmed.

The claims and the pushback

Vance said Microsoft laid off 6,000 US workers while obtaining 6,300 H-1B visas and almost 3,000 green cards, and the Labor Department said it had uncovered $22bn in visa fraud, according to Al Jazeera. Microsoft disputed the claims in a blog post, saying 80% of its visas were to extend or change the status of existing employees. Al Jazeera notes it could not see how the $22bn figure was calculated. India’s Ministry of External Affairs criticised the suspension and Vance’s comments, the report says. These are the administration’s allegations, not findings tested in court.

Who is most exposed

The people at the centre are foreign workers on temporary visas, such as H-1B holders, whose employers have started the green card process. Al Jazeera reports that Indian nationals make up about 79% of the roughly 1.25 million-person green card backlog. Picture an Indian software engineer whose employer filed PERM last year: if that employer is on the list, the case may simply stop moving while the suspension lasts. Workers at companies not named appear unaffected for now, though that is not guaranteed.

The move lands on top of earlier changes covered here, including the court ruling on the $100,000 H-1B fee and the revised public charge assessment.

What happens next

Watch for the text of any order, a Labor Department notice on PERM processing, and legal challenges. Until then, affected workers should ask their employer’s immigration counsel whether the company is covered and keep copies of filed paperwork. You can test your own options with our visa eligibility checker. For official programme details see the Labor Department PERM page.

PERM suspension: common questions

What is PERM?

Permanent Labor Certification, the Labor Department step many employers must complete before sponsoring a worker for an employment-based green card.

Which companies are named?

Al Jazeera lists Microsoft, Adobe, Capgemini, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies, and says Meta, Amazon and Google are not affected.

Is the suspension in force now?

Al Jazeera describes it as already announced but gives no effective date and links no official text, so details remain unconfirmed.

Does Microsoft agree with the allegations?

No. Microsoft disputed them in a blog post, saying most of its filings were for existing employees.

What should affected workers do?

Check with the employer’s immigration lawyers, keep records, and watch for official Labor Department or USCIS notices.

More on this topic: Australia student visa reform and the US $750 expedited visa interview pilot.

03 Oct 2026
Green card interview setting shaped by the public charge rule change

The Old Green Card Test Is Back. Here’s What DHS Now Weighs

Categories Immigration, Visa Updates

The United States has rolled back a four-year-old limit on green card reviews. It governs how immigration officers judge whether an applicant might depend on government support. The public charge rule change took effect on September 18, 2026. On that date, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded the 2022 public charge regulation. The move restores a broader test. Officers can again weigh age, health, family situation, finances, assets, liabilities, and education and skills together. They use this mix to judge whether an applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on government support. The change landed about two weeks before the start of a new government fiscal year. Its effects are still unfolding.

The Public Charge Rule Change Explained

“Public charge” has long been part of U.S. immigration law. It lets officers deny a green card or visa when they conclude an applicant will likely rely mainly on government benefits to survive. The concept dates back decades, but its practical meaning has shifted with each administration. One version took effect in 2019 with a wide list of weighable factors. Courts blocked parts of it, and a later administration withdrew it entirely in 2021. DHS then wrote a narrower rule in 2022. That rule limited which factors could count against an applicant. It leaned heavily on whether someone received specific cash assistance or long-term institutional care, and it set a higher bar for officers to deny a case on public charge grounds.

The public charge rule change undoes that narrower approach. DHS rescinded the 2022 regulation outright, not just parts of it. That detail comes from a Newsweek report on the October 2026 shift. Officers can again weigh a wider set of personal and financial factors when forming a public charge determination. They are no longer tied mainly to a short list of specific benefit programs.

DHS Regulation Rolls Back 2022 Protections

Officers can now weigh age. They can weigh health. They can look at an applicant’s family situation, finances, assets and liabilities, and education and skills. No single factor decides a case on its own. Together, these factors form a fuller picture. An officer uses that picture to judge future reliance on government support.

A green card interview now shaped by the public charge rule change

This brings the test closer to the broader 2019 standard. A court fight and a change in administration had replaced that standard with the narrower 2022 rule. The current DHS regulation keeps that 2022 version off the books entirely, effective September 18, 2026. Immigration lawyers describe the shift as a return to a wider lens, not a brand-new test, since the underlying public charge statute itself has not changed.

DHS has not released a new numeric scoring system alongside the rule change. Officers instead apply judgment across the full set of factors, case by case. That gives individual officers more discretion than the 2022 framework allowed.

Green Card Applications Now Face a Wider Review

The rule change affects most green card applications. That includes cases filed inside the United States and immigrant visa applications processed at consulates abroad. An officer reviewing a Form I-485 or a consular visa application can now ask for a fuller financial and personal picture. They can do this before approving the case.

The change lands alongside several other adjustments tied to the October 1, 2026 start of the government’s 2027 fiscal year. Annual visa number limits reset on that date. The EB-2 category’s Final Action Date for India, for example, moved to November 1, 2013. USCIS also selected the Dates for Filing chart for October 2026. That chart lets some applicants submit Form I-485 earlier than usual, ahead of their category’s Final Action Date.

Applicants are also tracking a separate narrowing of USCIS filing deadline extensions. That policy shift tightens how much extra time USCIS grants when paperwork arrives incomplete. Taken together, the fiscal year 2027 changes give applicants both new opportunities and new risks to manage in the same filing season.

Financial Criteria DHS Officers Can Weigh

Finances sit at the center of the public charge rule change. Officers can examine an applicant’s income, assets, liabilities and credit history. They can weigh these alongside the usual affidavit of support filed by a sponsor. Education and skills count too, since they relate to an applicant’s ability to support themselves over time.

Age and health remain part of the mix as well. A younger applicant in good health with marketable skills presents a different financial outlook than an older applicant with significant medical needs and few assets. Family situation matters too. An officer can consider household size and whether other family members contribute income or depend on the applicant.

DHS has not published new numeric thresholds for any of these factors. Officers weigh them together rather than applying a fixed formula. That approach gives the agency flexibility, but it also means two similar applicants could see different outcomes depending on how an individual officer weighs the same facts.

How This Changes a Green Card Interview

Applicants preparing for a green card interview should expect broader questions. An officer may ask about savings, debts, job history, education and health insurance coverage. That goes beyond the narrower set of benefit programs the 2022 rule focused on.

Thorough documentation helps. That includes recent bank statements, pay stubs, proof of health insurance, education records and a complete Form I-864 affidavit of support from a sponsor. None of this guarantees approval. Gaps in any one area now carry more weight than they did before September 18, 2026.

Immigration attorneys are advising clients to review their financial paperwork well before a scheduled interview. Officers now have more room to ask follow-up questions on any of the factors DHS restored. Applicants who update their documentation early tend to have fewer surprises at the interview itself.

The public charge rule change is one of several shifts reshaping cross-border mobility this year. Canada has tightened scrutiny in its own system too, including a parallel tightening around a work permit refusal tied to a procedural fairness letter. Scholarship timelines are shifting as well. A recent example is this year’s Chevening Scholarship timeline, released after its 2027-28 deadline results.

Public Charge Rule: What You’re Asking

What is the public charge rule change?
It is DHS’s September 18, 2026 rescission of the 2022 public charge regulation. It restores a broader set of factors officers can weigh, including age, health, family situation, finances, assets, liabilities, and education and skills, when deciding whether an applicant is likely to become primarily dependent on government support.

When did the new rule take effect?
September 18, 2026. October 2026 is the first full month processed under the restored framework.

Does the public charge rule change affect visa applications too?
Yes. It applies to green card applications filed inside the United States and to immigrant visa applications processed at U.S. consulates abroad.

What factors can officers now weigh?
Age, health, family situation, finances, assets and liabilities, and education and skills.

Is the public charge rule change connected to other October 2026 immigration changes?
Yes. It coincides with the fiscal year 2027 reset of annual visa number limits, a new EB-2 Final Action Date for India of November 1, 2013, and USCIS’s October 2026 Dates for Filing chart.

Where can applicants find official information?
The Department of Homeland Security publishes immigration policy updates on its own site.

Sources

20 Sep 2026
Employment-based visa retrogression immigration office paperwork

Your Green Card Priority Date Could Freeze in the Next 10 Days

Categories Immigration, Visa Updates

The State Department’s September 2026 Visa Bulletin held cutoff dates steady from August, but it came with a warning attached. Employment-based visa retrogression could hit several categories before the fiscal year closes on September 30. High demand is pushing some annual limits toward their ceiling.

The categories most exposed are EB-1 and EB-2 for applicants born in India, along with EB-5 Unreserved. India’s EB-2 category has already become unavailable at points this fiscal year after its prorated limit was reached, a preview of what could happen more broadly in the final days of September.

This is bureaucratic language for a simple fact. The line moved backward, or stopped. Applicants near the front felt it first. Those further back barely noticed. That gap is the whole story here.

The short version: The fiscal year ends September 30. EB-1 India, EB-2 and EB-5 Unreserved are at risk. September cutoff dates held steady from August. India’s EB-2 has already gone unavailable once. New numbers open October 1. Check your priority date now.

What Retrogression Actually Means

A visa category “retrogresses” when the government pulls its cutoff date backward because more people applied than there is annual visa capacity to cover. A category can also become “unavailable,” which pauses new visa issuance in that category entirely until the next fiscal year opens on October 1. Both outcomes leave applicants who were close to their priority date waiting longer than expected.

Why India’s Categories Are Under the Most Pressure

Demand for employment-based green cards from India has outpaced the per-country limits built into US immigration law for years, creating long-standing backlogs. Each fiscal year’s final weeks tend to be when the State Department has the least room to maneuver, since annual number limits are fixed and cannot be exceeded regardless of demand.

What the September Bulletin Actually Says

Cutoff dates across employment-based and family-based categories generally held steady from August to September 2026, with no forward movement but also no retrogression announced in the bulletin itself. The warning is about what could still happen in the final days of the fiscal year if demand continues at its current pace, not something that has already occurred bulletin-wide.

Read the fine print carefully. A steady bulletin is not a guarantee. It is a snapshot. Snapshots change fast in September. Ask your attorney before you assume anything.

The State Department publishes two sets of dates each month: a “final action” chart that governs when a visa can actually be issued, and a “dates for filing” chart that governs when an application can be submitted. Applicants sometimes confuse the two, and immigration attorneys note that a category remaining open on the filing chart does not guarantee the final action chart will not still tighten before September 30.

Why Employment-Based Visa Retrogression Keeps Recurring in September

This is not the first time the government has flagged year-end pressure on employment categories, and it is unlikely to be the last. Annual visa number limits are fixed by statute, while application volume fluctuates based on economic conditions, processing backlogs and employer sponsorship trends that shift from year to year. When those two lines cross late in a fiscal year, the State Department has only one lever available: slow down or pause issuance until the count resets on October 1.

What Applicants Can Do Now

Applicants with pending cases in the affected categories should confirm their priority dates are current before taking any action that depends on visa availability, such as scheduling a final interview or filing to adjust status. Immigration attorneys generally advise against assuming a category will remain available through September 30 in a year when the government has already flagged possible retrogression.

Employers sponsoring foreign workers in the affected categories should also build extra lead time into any planning tied to a specific priority date, since a category that retrogresses can take months to recover once the new fiscal year’s allocation opens.

The numbers at a glance: Fiscal year ends: September 30. Categories flagged: EB-1 India, EB-2, EB-5 Unreserved. September movement: none from August. New numbers open: October 1. Bulletin issued by: US State Department.

Visa Bulletin Questions, Answered

What does “unavailable” mean on the visa bulletin?
It means no more visas can be issued in that category until the new fiscal year begins on October 1.

Which categories are most at risk this year?
EB-1 India, EB-2, and EB-5 Unreserved, according to the State Department’s own guidance.

Did the September bulletin already show retrogression?
No. Cutoff dates held steady from August, but the department warned further movement could come before September 30.

Why does India face more pressure than other countries?
Per-country limits combined with high application volume from India have created backlogs that are worse than in most other countries.

When does the pressure typically ease?
At the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, when annual visa number limits reset.

More Context

Sources

  • Gibney — September 2026 Visa Bulletin Released. gibney.com
  • Murthy Law Firm — September 2026 Visa Bulletin. murthy.com
  • RJ Immigration Law — September 2026 Visa Bulletin: Key Updates, Trends & What to Expect. rjimmigrationlaw.com

19 Sep 2026
public charge rule change affects green card application paperwork

US Green Card Rules Just Got Tougher — But Only for New Filers

Categories Immigration, Visa Updates

The public charge rule change took effect on September 18, 2026. It rewrites how U.S. immigration officers judge whether a green card applicant might depend on government help later. The change is not retroactive. It applies only to Form I-485 adjustment-of-status applications postmarked or e-filed on or after September 18, 2026, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

If you already filed, or you file before that date, officers still use the older 2022 standard. If you file on or after September 18, the broader new test applies. That single date now matters more than almost anything else in your application.

What the public charge rule change actually does

The public charge test is not new. U.S. law has long allowed officers to deny a green card on this ground. The test asks whether an applicant is likely, at any time, to become primarily dependent on the government for basic needs like shelter, food, or health care.

public charge rule change: a stack of visa and immigration documents

What changed is the list of factors an officer can weigh. Under the 2022 rule, officers mostly looked at cash assistance programs and long-term institutional care paid for by the government. The USCIS guidance issued August 18, 2026 adds a much longer list of non-cash, means-tested benefits to that review. These include Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, housing assistance, and financial aid for college.

Officers now judge each case under a “totality of the circumstances” standard. No single factor decides the outcome on its own, except one: an insufficient Form I-864 Affidavit of Support can sink a family-based case by itself, per the updated policy manual.

Why the US rescinded the 2022 public charge standard

The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule in the Federal Register on July 20, 2026, formally rescinding the Biden-era 2022 regulation. DHS argues the older rule was too narrow and did not reflect Congress’s intent that immigrants remain self-sufficient.

Immigrant rights groups disagree. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) warns that the broader standard gives individual officers wide discretion, which could produce inconsistent decisions on similar facts. A coalition of 22 states, Washington, D.C., and several cities sued in early September to block the rule. No court has issued an injunction so far, so the rule took effect as scheduled.

Which green card applicants must plan around the new test

The public charge ground of inadmissibility does not apply to everyone. It never applies to U.S. citizens. It also does not apply to most refugees, asylees, and applicants for U visas, T visas, or VAWA-based relief.

The new USCIS policy manual guidance applies specifically to adjustment-of-status applicants filing Form I-485 inside the United States, whether through a family petition or an employer sponsor. It does not apply to admission decisions made by Customs and Border Protection at the border, and it does not govern immigrant or nonimmigrant visa interviews handled by the State Department abroad. Those categories follow separate, evolving guidance.

This matters for anyone weighing an application on the newest I-485 edition, since the form’s public benefits question was rewritten alongside this policy shift.

What happens next for pending and future filers

Anyone with a green card case pending or filed on or before September 17, 2026 keeps the old 2022 standard for that case. USCIS has confirmed the filing date, not the interview date or decision date, is what locks in which rule applies.

Legal challenges are still moving through federal court, and more lawsuits are expected. A judge could pause or narrow the rule later this year. Applicants already stuck in long queues from green card category retrogression should watch both fronts: the litigation and their own priority date.

Expect USCIS to keep updating its policy manual as officers apply the new standard in real cases. Expect litigation updates too, since this fight echoes an earlier one over a similar 2019 rule from the first Trump administration.

How to prepare under the public charge rule change

Talk to a licensed immigration attorney before you file, especially if your household has used any means-tested benefit. A lawyer can review your Form I-864 Affidavit of Support and flag any weak points before an officer does.

Do not panic-withdraw from benefits you or your family legally need. ILRC and other advocates warn this can cause real harm without changing your immigration outcome, since past benefit use before September 18 falls under the older, narrower rule regardless.

Keep records. Officers may ask about income, assets, education, and work history under the “totality of the circumstances” review. Organized documentation makes that conversation faster and less stressful.

Watch your filing date closely. This policy shift is one of several changes reshaping U.S. immigration procedure this year, alongside a separate court fight over student status rules. Applicants filing across multiple categories should track each deadline independently.

Frequently asked questions about the public charge rule change

What is the public charge rule change?
It is a September 2026 USCIS policy shift. It lets officers weigh a wider range of public benefits, including Medicaid and food assistance, when deciding if a green card applicant might depend on government support later.

When did the new public charge rule take effect?
It took effect on September 18, 2026, following a Department of Homeland Security final rule published in July 2026.

Does this affect green card applications already filed?
No. USCIS says applications filed, postmarked, or e-filed before September 18, 2026 stay under the older 2022 standard.

What benefits count under the new standard?
Officers can now weigh cash assistance, Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, housing assistance, and education financial aid, among other means-tested programs. Social Security, veterans’ benefits, and unemployment insurance do not count.

Could a lawsuit block the public charge rule change?
Multiple states and cities have sued to stop it, but no court had blocked the rule as of its effective date. Future rulings could still pause or narrow it.

Does the rule apply to everyone seeking a US visa?
No. It applies specifically to Form I-485 adjustment-of-status applicants. It does not cover U.S. citizens, most refugees and asylees, or applicants under U visas, T visas, or VAWA.

Sources

13 Sep 2026
Passport and immigration paperwork on a desk, illustrating the new public charge rule for green card applicants

The New Public Charge Rule Starts September 18

Categories Immigration

From 18 September, US immigration officers regain broad discretion to decide whether a green card applicant is likely to become dependent on public benefits. The new public charge rule rescinds the 2022 regulation that had narrowed that assessment to a defined set of benefits and factors, and restores a looser “totality of the circumstances” test.

The final rule was published in the Federal Register on 20 July 2026, following a DHS announcement on 16 July.

Discretion is the substance of the change

Public charge is an old provision of US immigration law: an applicant deemed likely to become primarily dependent on government support can be refused. What shifts between administrations is not the principle but how much room the adjudicating officer has.

The 2022 rule constrained that room. It specified which benefits counted, which factors could be weighed, and how. An officer worked within defined boundaries.

The new rule removes those boundaries and returns to an individualised judgement across the totality of an applicant’s circumstances — age, health, family status, assets, resources, financial status, education and skills.

The practical effect is variability. Two applicants with similar profiles can receive different outcomes from different officers, and there is less regulatory text to point to on appeal.

More benefits enter the calculation

The rule expands what may be considered. An applicant’s application for, approval for, certification to receive, or receipt of means-tested public benefits can be weighed — including categories generally excluded under the 2022 rule, such as certain Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP, food and housing benefits.

Note the breadth of the verbs. Having applied for a benefit may be considered, whether or not it was received.

The date that determines which rule applies to you

This is the part worth getting exactly right.

The new rule applies to applications for admission made on or after 18 September 2026, and to adjustment of status applications postmarked or electronically submitted on or after 18 September 2026.

Applications submitted before that date are assessed under the 2022 framework. Receipt of means-tested benefits before 18 September will also be considered consistently with the 2022 rule — so past benefit use is not retroactively reassessed under the new standard.

For anyone with a substantially complete filing, the submission date carries real weight.

Who is and is not affected

Public charge does not apply to every immigration category. Refugees and asylees are exempt, as are several humanitarian categories and applicants for naturalisation, where the test is not part of the assessment.

It applies principally to family-based and employment-based green card applicants, and to some applicants for admission at a port of entry.

A recurring problem in previous rounds of public charge tightening was the chilling effect: eligible people, including US citizen children, dropped out of benefit programmes they were entitled to, out of fear it would affect a relative’s case. Benefits received by other household members are not automatically attributed to the applicant, and the exempt categories remain exempt. Anyone unsure of their position should get advice specific to their category rather than withdrawing from support pre-emptively.

What applicants can reasonably do

  • Check your submission date against 18 September. If your filing is nearly ready, that date decides which framework governs it.
  • Assemble evidence of financial self-sufficiency. Under a totality test, the strength of the overall picture matters more than any single element — income, assets, employment history, education, skills, health insurance.
  • Confirm whether your category is subject to the test at all before changing anything about benefit enrolment.
  • Expect less predictability. Broader discretion means outcomes vary more between officers, which is an argument for a thorough filing rather than a minimal one.

USCIS maintains guidance on public charge determinations in its newsroom.

Read alongside the wider tightening

This is not an isolated adjustment. It arrives days after the end of duration of status for student visas, and follows fee increases on employer-sponsored routes covered in our report on the H-1B extension surcharge. The consular network is also being reorganised, as we noted when USCIS opened a new overseas office.

Applicants planning multi-year pathways should assume the rules governing the later stages may not be the rules in place today.

Questions on the public charge test

When does the new public charge rule take effect?

18 September 2026. It applies to admission applications made on or after that date and adjustment of status applications postmarked or filed electronically on or after that date.

What is the main change?

USCIS officers regain broad discretion to make an individualised “totality of the circumstances” determination, rather than being limited to the defined benefits and factors set out in the 2022 rule.

Which benefits can now be considered?

Means-tested public benefits including certain Medicaid, SNAP, CHIP, food and housing benefits that were generally excluded under the 2022 rule. Applying for or being certified to receive them may also be weighed.

Will benefits I received in the past count against me?

Benefits received before 18 September 2026 will be considered consistently with the 2022 rule, not the new standard.

Does public charge apply to all green card applicants?

No. Refugees, asylees and several humanitarian categories are exempt, and it does not apply to naturalisation. It applies mainly to family-based and employment-based applicants.

Should I withdraw from benefits I currently receive?

Not without advice specific to your category. Exempt categories remain exempt, and benefits received by other household members are not automatically attributed to the applicant.

Our immigration desk is tracking each of the autumn US changes as they take effect — see the H-1B fee increase for the employment-route side.

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