The Department of Homeland Security has fundamentally altered how millions of immigrants can obtain green cards, requiring them to return to their home countries to complete the application process rather than adjusting their status while already in the United States.
USCIS announced the policy shift Friday in an agency memo that reverses a procedure unchanged for more than six decades. Under the new directive, foreign nationals seeking permanent residency must file applications through US consulates abroad instead of applying domestically, a distinction that could force applicants to leave jobs, families, and established lives for an indefinite processing period.
The DHS framed the change as essential to preventing what it called immigration loopholes. "An alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply," the agency stated, adding that "this policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended."
The scope of the disruption is substantial. More than 1 million legal immigrants currently in the United States are waiting for green card approvals, according to analysis from the Cato Institute. The change particularly threatens mixed-status families, who now face separation during what could be months or years of processing.
Immigration attorneys, refugee advocates, and policy experts have condemned the move. HIAS, which serves refugees and other vulnerable immigrant populations, warned that the policy forces trafficking survivors and abused or neglected children to return to the countries they fled, potentially putting them back in danger while their cases are pending.
The agency has not clarified how currently pending applications will be handled under the new rules, leaving thousands of applicants in legal limbo.
The policy represents another escalation in the Trump administration's immigration agenda. The state department in January revoked more than 100,000 visas in the second Trump administration. In the prior year, the administration shortened visa durations for students, cultural exchange visitors, and journalists. Officials have also targeted immigrants with legal status, including refugees and other protected populations.
The timing adds pressure to an immigration system already overwhelmed by processing backlogs for visa and green card cases.
Author James Rodriguez: "Forcing a million people to leave the country to get permanent residency is cruel policy dressed up as law and order."
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