On October 9, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published new editions of Forms I-485, I-129, I-539/I-539A, I-864, I-864EZ, and I-944. On its website, USCIS stated that it would accept the previous edition of the forms if they are postmarked on or before October 14, 2019.
The effective date of when the new edition of these forms become the only accepted edition (October 15, 2019) is also the effective date of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final rule on the public charge ground of inadmissibility. These forms have been updated to ask additional questions regarding public charge in light of DHS’s final rule.
However, on October 11, 2019, a Federal District Court Judge from the Southern District of New York issued an injunction on USCIS enforcing the new public charge rule and requiring the updated forms. At this time, it is unclear what the results of the injunction mean, whether the new editions of the forms will be accepted or if USCIS will continue to accept previous editions past October 15, 2019. It is expected that USCIS will provide further guidance on this matter.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office with any further questions regarding this matter.