USCIS Will Reject Without RFE or NOID: New Form I-485 Edition Required by Sept. 18, 2026

USCIS has announced it will release a new edition of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. The agency has set a firm deadline of September 18, after which any submission using an older edition of the form will be rejected without the opportunity for correction via a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). For EB-3 applicants and others in the adjustment of status process, this is a critical administrative update. Unlike some USCIS policy changes that allow a grace period or invite applicants to respond, this is a hard cutoff — submissions on outdated form editions will be returned or rejected entirely, potentially causing significant delays in a pending case. Applicants who are preparing to file or have a filing imminent should verify they are using the latest edition of Form I-485, available on the official USCIS website at uscis.gov. The edition date is printed in the lower-left corner of the form's first page. Any pre-filled or previously prepared packages should be reviewed and updated before submission. Attorneys and accredited representatives handling EB-3 adjustment cases should audit their document preparation workflows to ensure only the new edition is used going forward. Law offices relying on auto-populated form software should confirm that their platforms have been updated to reflect the new edition before September 18. USCIS periodically revises its forms to reflect regulatory or policy changes, and compliance with the current edition is mandatory. Applicants are strongly encouraged to download a fresh copy of Form I-485 directly from USCIS shortly before filing to avoid using an outdated version.