If you are pursuing a U.S. green card and USCIS has concerns about whether you can support yourself financially, you may be offered an unusual option before your case is denied or approved: post a public charge bond using Form I-945. It is one of the lesser-known – but increasingly important – tools in U.S. immigration law, and in 2026.
A Brief History:
Form I-945 as a formal USCIS document was created in August 2019 under the Trump administration’s sweeping Public Charge Final Rule, which set a minimum bond of $8,100 and made Form I-945 active for the first time on February 24, 2020 – only to be suspended by courts multiple times during the COVID-19 period. When the Biden administration took office, it formally discontinued the form in March 2021, reverted to the narrow 1999 public charge definition, and published its own softer public charge rule effective December 23, 2022. In September 2025, the Trump 2.0 administration reinstated Form I-945 with proposed updates – including the ability to accept DOS Consular Case Numbers, signaling a possible expansion to consular processing abroad. As of April 2026, the form is active, the $8,100 minimum bond applies, and a revised edition is pending final OMB approval.
What Is Form I-945?
Form I-945 is USCIS’s Public Charge Bond form. When an applicant for a green card (adjustment of status) is found inadmissible on public charge grounds under INA §212(a)(4) – meaning an officer believes the person may become financially dependent on government benefits – Form I-945 offers a second chance. Rather than an outright denial, the applicant may be invited to post a financial bond as a guarantee of self-sufficiency.
IMPORTANT:
USCIS must first send an official invitation (typically via a Notice of Intent to Deny) before Form I-945 can be submitted. Applicants cannot file it on their own initiative.
Bond Amounts & Types
The minimum bond USCIS will accept is $8,100, though officers have full discretion to set a higher amount. There are two ways to post the bond:
BOND TYPE | MINIMUM | WHAT YOU ACTUALLY PAY | REFUNDABLE? |
Cash Bond | $8,100 | Full $8,100+ upfront via cashier’s check | Yes – full amount + interest |
Surety Bond | $8,100 face value | ~15% premium (~$1,215) to bond company | No – premium is kept by surety company |
Note: Surety Bond Involves a certified surety company or its authorized agent to post the bond, which may include a co-obligor.
What Are the Bond Conditions?
The immigrant agrees not to receive certain public benefits – primarily SSI, TANF, federal/state cash assistance programs, or long-term institutional care – for more than 12 months in aggregate within any 36-month period after receiving their green card. Benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), CHIP, housing assistance, and WIC generally do not trigger a bond breach under the current 2022 rule.
How Do You Get the Money Back?
The bond is not cancelled automatically. The obligor must file Form I-356 to request cancellation. USCIS will refund the full cash deposit plus accrued interest when any of the following occur:
1 | 5 Years After LPR Admission No public charge breach during the 5-year period following green card grant. |
2 | Naturalization as a U.S. Citizen Upon approval of naturalization, the bond obligation ends. |
3 | Permanent Departure from the U.S. Formal abandonment of LPR status via Form I-407 plus proof of departure. |
4 | Death of the Immigrant Certified death certificate submitted with no prior public charge breach. |
5 | USCIS Determination of Self-Sufficiency USCIS determines the immigrant is no longer likely to become a public charge. |
The 75-Country Immigrant Visa Pause
Effective January 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of State paused immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, including Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil, Pakistan, Egypt, Ghana, and dozens more – citing public charge concerns. The pause is blanket: it applies regardless of an individual applicant’s personal finances.
Could Form I-945 Be the Solution?
This is the question many practitioners and applicants are asking. Legally, the framework under INA Section 213 already authorizes bonds as a remedy for public charge inadmissibility – and the updated I-945 form now accepts DOS Consular Case Numbers, suggesting the infrastructure for a consular bond pathway may be in development. The B1/B2 Visa Bond Pilot Program (requiring $5,000–$15,000 bonds for non-immigrant applicants from 50+ countries) shows the current administration’s willingness to use bonds broadly.
However, as of April 2026, no bond pathway exists for the 75-country pause. The State Department is still conducting its methodological review, litigation is ongoing in federal courts, and courts may issue injunctions before any pathway is formalized.
Breaking Update: OMB's March 26, 2026 Decision on I-945
On March 26, 2026, many in the immigration community were watching closely as OMB’s deadline for acting on the revised Form I-945 (OMB Control No. 1615-0143) arrived – hoping an approval would give the State Department a concrete tool for the 75-country pause. Instead, OMB’s entry recorded “withholding approval at this time” and “comment filed on proposed rule.” In plain terms, the revised I-945 was not approved – not rejected outright, but not cleared for use either. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, OMB withholds approval when an agency has not yet provided a sufficiently stable or clearly defined framework for how the form will be used. That can happen because the underlying policy is still evolving, public comments have not been fully addressed, or the use case for the form is broader than what existing rules clearly support. In short, OMB is signaling: “you have not finished explaining this yet.”
Does this kill the bond theory for the 75-country pause? Not necessarily. The theory was never unreasonable: DHS submitted the revised I-945 to OMB on January 30, 2026 – just nine days after DOS announced the pause – and the revised form explicitly incorporates DOS Consular Case Numbers and DOS as a co-authority. That sequence still suggests coordination. What OMB’s decision clarifies is that the I-945 is not the entire story. The broader “screening and vetting policies” DOS said it was reviewing point to front-end, system-level processes – not just the bond tool applied in individual cases. The bond may still become one piece of a larger framework once those broader standards are settled. But as of today, the architecture behind the pause remains fragmented across overlapping tracks: a DHS public charge NPRM, the I-945 reinstatement effort, internal DOS cable guidance surfaced in CLINIC v. Rubio, and the DOS Visa Bond Pilot Program – none of which collapse into one clean, publicly finalized mechanism.
⚡ BOTTOM LINE
March 26 was a setback, not a door closing. DHS will likely need to revise and resubmit the I-945 to OMB, a process that could take weeks to several months. Ongoing litigation (CLINIC v. Rubio) is also seeking the government’s administrative record, which may reveal how all of these moving parts actually connect. We are monitoring every development and will update clients immediately if a bond pathway is announced.
