The public charge bond: when the money comes back, when it is lost, and why September 18 changes everything

In one sentence: if you have been invited to post a public charge bond, the date it is filed decides, permanently, what can make you lose the money; through September 17, 2026 the narrow condition in force today applies, and from September 18 a considerably broader condition applies.

What this is about

Public charge is the rule that allows a green card to be refused to someone the government considers likely to come to depend on public assistance. When the officer concludes that this is the only problem in the case, and no other, the officer may invite the person to post a sum as security. That sum is the bond. Once posted and accepted by the government, it allows the application to be approved despite the public charge conclusion. Without an invitation there is no bond: the government does not accept a deposit from someone who was not invited, and there is no way to ask for one.

The bond is a contract. On one side the U.S. government, on the other whoever posts it, which may be the person themselves, a relative, a company or a surety company certified by the Treasury. It may be in cash, in which case the full amount sits in a Treasury account earning interest, or through a surety company, in which case nothing is paid up front. The minimum amount is set by regulation and the amount in each case is decided individually, according to the risk the officer sees. The exact amount is stated in the communication inviting the deposit.

The bond has no expiry date. It remains in force until it is cancelled, until it is replaced by another, or until it is declared breached. There is no bond that simply lapses with time.

What changes on September 18, 2026

A rule published on July 20, 2026 rewrote the provision defining when a bond is breached. The rule takes effect on September 18, 2026 and does something unusual: it creates two regimes that coexist, and what separates one from the other is the date the bond was filed with the government. Not the date of the invitation, nor the date the case began, nor the date of the final decision. It is the filing date.

Bond filed	What causes the money to be lost
Through September 17, 2026	Receiving public cash assistance for income maintenance, or long-term institutionalization at government expense. Or failing to comply with any other condition written into the bond.
On or after September 18, 2026	Receiving any means-tested public benefit, before death, permanent departure from the country or naturalization. Or failing to comply with any other condition written into the bond.

The gap between the two lines is wide, and worth measuring. Cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense are relatively rare situations, and many families never come near them. A benefit granted on the basis of income or resources is a much broader category, reaching common assistance programs. The new rule uses the term means-tested public benefit and does not define it in the provision itself. For that reason, anyone under the new regime should check program by program, before accepting any assistance, and should not assume that a benefit falls outside.

The form also changes on September 18, and there is no grace period

The bond is posted using Form I-945. On September 18, 2026 a new version takes over, with the edition date 09/18/26 printed at the foot of the page, and there is no transition period. The previous version, 12/23/22, is accepted if filed through September 17 and rejected if filed on or after September 18. The new version is only accepted from September 18 onward. The government has already released a preview of the new version, precisely because there will be no grace period.

Two mandatory enclosures, and the absence of either one causes the government to return the package without reviewing it: a copy of the communication in which the government invited the deposit, and payment in the exact amount stated in that communication. An amount above or below is not corrected, it is rejected.

When the money comes back

The money does not come back on its own. Cancellation of the bond must be requested on the form the government designates for that purpose, currently Form I-356, and the request may come from whoever posted it or from the bonded person themselves. Until the request is filed and decided, the bond remains in force. These are the situations in which cancellation is possible.

Death of the bonded person, provided the bond had not been breached earlier.
Permanent departure from the United States, which requires losing or abandoning permanent residence and being physically outside the country.
Naturalization, that is, when the person becomes a U.S. citizen.
The passing of the fifth anniversary of admission or adjustment of status, with the request filed, all conditions complied with and no breach found.
Substitution by another bond, when the person who posted it wants out and another person or company takes their place.

Once cancellation of a cash bond is approved, the government returns the amount deposited and also the interest it earned over the period. Whoever posted it is released from liability. If the bond was through a surety company, cancellation releases the company from the commitment.

When the money is lost

A breach is not automatic. The government must declare the bond breached, and before doing so it gives written notice to whoever posted it, stating the grounds and opening a period for a response and for evidence to the contrary. The bonded person receives a copy of everything. If the response does not persuade, the breach decision issues, and it can be challenged on administrative appeal. Under the rule taking effect on September 18, both the surety company and the bonded person themselves may appeal, each through the route the regulation indicates.

Once a breach is final, the full amount of a cash bond is forfeited. The accrued interest, however, is returned to whoever posted it. In the case of a surety bond, it is the surety company that pays the promised amount to the government, and then seeks reimbursement from whoever engaged it, under the contract signed with the company.

The consular route

The bond also exists outside the United States. On a page updated on August 5, 2026, the Department of State reports that it has begun a pilot program in which the consular officer may require certain immigrant visa applicants to apply to USCIS for a bond. Once the bond is approved, the officer may issue an immigrant visa previously refused on public charge grounds, if the applicant is otherwise eligible. Here too the initiative lies with the officer, and the Department states that anyone required to post will be notified by the officer. On this route, the amount is set by the consular officer, based on the totality of the circumstances of the case.

What to do now

If you have already received the communication inviting the deposit, look at the deadline written in it and compare it with September 17, 2026. The difference between filing before or after that date follows the bond for its whole life.
Check the edition date at the foot of the form. Through September 17 it is 12/23/22, and from September 18 it is 09/18/26.
Enclose with the filing a copy of the government's communication and pay exactly the amount stated in it.
Keep the receipt showing acceptance of the bond. It is what marks the date that sets the regime, and it is the starting point for requesting cancellation later.
Before accepting any public benefit, ask whether it falls within the condition of your bond. If the bond is under the new regime, the question applies to far more programs than before.
After five years, cancellation does not happen on its own. The request has to be filed.

A note on method, for anyone comparing this text with other sources: besides the regulation, USCIS maintains its own internal guidance on public charge, and that guidance is replaced in full, also on September 18, 2026. What this guide describes on the decisive points comes from the regulation, which is binding law. Procedural details may change with the new guidance.

Sources

Department of Homeland Security, Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility, final rule published on July 20, 2026, 91 FR 45324, effective September 18, 2026, in particular the new text of 8 C.F.R. 103.6(c)(1) and the removal of 8 C.F.R. 212.20 through 212.23.
USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 8, Part G, chapters 10, 11 and 12, on the public charge bond, in the text in force through September 17, 2026.
USCIS, Policy Alert of August 18, 2026, revising Volume 8, Part G with effect from September 18, 2026.
USCIS, official page for Form I-945, Public Charge Bond, with the notices on the September 18, 2026 edition.
U.S. Department of State, Public Charge Bonds for Immigrant Visa Applicants, page updated on August 5, 2026.
INA 213, 8 U.S.C. 1183, the statutory basis of the bond.

Updated September 1, 2026, based on the text of the final rule published on July 20, 2026 and on chapters 10, 11 and 12 of Volume 8, Part G of the USCIS Policy Manual, read at source. The rule takes effect on September 18, 2026, and the USCIS internal guidance on public charge is also replaced on that date. The rule may be changed or suspended by court order. Confirm the situation before making any decision.