2026 Green Card Rescission Alert: How to Respond When USCIS Issues a Notice of Intent to Rescind Your I-485

USCIS has the authority to issue a Notice of Intent to Rescind (NOIR) an approved Form I-485 adjustment of status, even when the applicant committed no wrongdoing. This most commonly occurs when USCIS later determines that an immigrant visa number was not immediately available on the date the application was approved—a situation that can arise due to priority date retrogression or per-country limits being reached mid-fiscal year. A recent and relevant example occurred on May 22, 2026, when the Department of State announced that the EB-2 India per-country limit had been reached for fiscal year 2026. The July 2026 Visa Bulletin consequently listed EB-2 India as unavailable for the remainder of FY2026. Applicants whose I-485 was approved during a brief window of apparent availability may now be at risk of receiving a NOIR. Applicants who receive a NOIR have only 30 days from the date of service to submit a written answer under oath and request a hearing before an immigration judge. Missing this deadline can result in automatic rescission of lawful permanent resident status without any administrative appeal. Importantly, receiving a NOIR does not immediately terminate green card status—it is a statement of intent, not a final order—but recipients should avoid international travel and major immigration decisions until the matter is resolved. When building a response, attorneys recommend reconstructing the full case record: the I-485 approval date, priority date, country of chargeability, preference category, monthly Visa Bulletin data, and any immigrant visa allocation records from the Department of State. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request can help obtain agency records, though it does not extend the 30-day response deadline. Applicants with an approved alternate petition—such as an EB-3—may have additional legal arguments available to them. Anyone who receives a NOIR should consult a qualified immigration attorney immediately. The five-year statute of limitations for USCIS to initiate rescission proceedings means some older approvals may still be at risk, particularly in oversubscribed categories like EB-2 India.