Note: This information is outdated. Please check this USCIS page for the latest policy.
Dear GreenCardHero Users,
USCIS has returned to requiring Form I-944. If you filed Form I-485 between July 29, 2020 and now, or you haven’t filed your application yet, please read this announcement carefully. For other applicants, you can safely disregard this.
For a quick refresher, USCIS announced on July 31, 2020 that applications postmarked on or after July 29, 2020 would not need to include Form I-944. Until September 22, 2020 (yesterday), this announcement was present on the USCIS website, and USCIS made the official Form I-944 webpage inaccessible to the public.
On September 22, USCIS announced that the court injunction against the new Public Charge rule had been lifted, and as a result, USCIS will apply the new Public Charge rule to all applications and petitions postmarked on or after Feb. 24, 2020.
How does it affect me?
If you have already submitted your I-944 and I-485, you are safe and have nothing to do. 👍
If you have not filed your application yet, you should include Form I-944 in your application because USCIS now requires it.
If you filed Form I-485 between July 29, 2020 and now, and you did not file Form I-944, USCIS may request you to submit Form I-944. Its announcement says “If we receive a Form I-485 before Oct. 13, 2020, that does not have all required forms and evidence, we will request any missing forms and evidence.”
USCIS has not provided future information on how they will request the missing forms and evidence. It is possible that USCIS will send applicants “Request for Evidence (RFE)”, but since the announcement does not mention these details, we do not know.
We understand that these inconsistent USCIS instructions from the past two months are very confusing and frustrating. We feel the same way. We will share updates as soon as USCIS publishes any further guidance.
Contact USCIS for further information
If you have questions about the changes in the I-944 requirement, the best way to get clarification is by contacting USCIS. You can speak to USCIS representatives during weekdays. When you call, the automated system would ask you for a case number, but it is OK if you don’t have one – just tell the representative you are still preparing your application. Here is their contact info:
If you need to talk to a representative, and are in the United States or a U.S. territory, you can call the USCIS Contact Center. Dial 800-375-5283 (for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability: TTY 800-767-1833). If you are outside the United States or a U.S. territory, you can call 212-620-3418. You can get live help from a USCIS representative Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern except on federal holidays.
How GreenCardHero will update the software
The current version (Version 1.14.56) of GreenCardHero supports Form I-944. We will soon release a new version to remove the injunction warning banners in the I-944-related sections.
Please check for our software updates regularly. You can see instructions on how to do that in this guide.
Again, we understand the confusion and frustration that USCIS’ flip-flopping instructions have created for everyone. We are closely monitoring the situation and will keep you updated. We will share news updates via email or in the software to keep you updated. But when in doubt, you should contact USCIS for the latest guidance using the method provided above.
For your immigration success,
Wenqin and Toshiro
Founders of GreenCardHero