The US has announced stricter Green Card rules that may require students, tourists and temporary workers to leave the country before applying for permanent residency.
The United States has announced stricter Green Card rules requiring most temporary visa holders to apply for permanent residency from their home country.
The United States has announced a major shift in its immigration process, saying most foreign nationals on temporary visas who want permanent residency will now be expected to return to their home country to apply for a Green Card.
The move could impact thousands of international students, tourists and temporary workers currently living in the US, as the Donald Trump administration pushes for tighter immigration enforcement and stricter interpretation of residency rules.
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In a policy memo issued on Friday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said adjustment of status from within the United States would now be treated as an “extraordinary form of relief” and granted only in limited situations.
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According to the USCIS release, individuals staying in the US on non-immigrant visas are generally expected to complete the immigrant visa process through consular processing in their home country via the US Department of State.
“US Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a new policy memo reiterating the fact that, consistent with long-standing immigration law and immigration court decisions, aliens seeking adjustment of status must do so through consular processing via the Department of State outside of the country,” the agency said.
The memo added that immigration officers would examine requests on a “case-by-case basis” before deciding whether a person qualifies for an exception.
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said the policy restores the “original intent” of immigration law and discourages people from overstaying after entering the US temporarily.
“We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly,” Kahler said.
“From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” he added.
Kahler further argued that the revised system would help reduce the burden on USCIS and allow the agency to focus on humanitarian and citizenship-related cases.
“The law allows the majority of these cases to be handled by the State Department at US consular offices abroad and frees up limited USCIS resources to focus on processing other cases,” he said.
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