Overview:
The Trump administration is introducing a new policy that would require many foreigners living in the U.S. to leave the country and apply for a green card from their home country.
A policy change announced by the Trump administration on Friday, May 22 will make it more challenging for Immigrants applying for green cards. According to a new policy memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), applicants will now have to return to their home countries to process an adjustment of status. The surprise change to a longstanding policy sparked confusion and concern among aid groups, immigration lawyers, and immigrants. Critics say it breaks with decades of immigration practice and could separate families.
The memo states, “From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.” The memo instructs immigration officers to review individual cases when deciding whether an applicant qualifies for the exemption.
The announcement is the latest move by the Trump administration to make legal immigration harder for people already living in the U.S. and for those trying to move here. The changes add to the steps the administration has already taken to limit entry from dozens of countries; some countries face full travel bans, while people from others are dealing with delays or pauses in visa processing.
For more than 50 years, people legally living in the U.S. have been able to apply for and complete the process to become permanent residents. This includes spouses of U.S. citizens, people with work or student visas, refugees, and asylum seekers, among others.
According to AP News, World Relief, a humanitarian and refugee resettlement organization, stated that forcing non-citizen family members to return to their country of origin to process immigrant visas creates a Catch-22 situation. “These policies will effectively create an indefinite separation of families,” they wrote.
In a statement criticizing the memo, Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), said, “The Trump administration is once again proving that they are not going after the ‘worst of the worst.’ Instead, they are blatantly attacking legal immigration, with family separation at the center of its agenda. This new policy will rip apart families, spouses, and children from their parents. For immigrants from more than 100 countries affected by Trump’s immigrant visa and travel bans—including over a dozen countries in Asia—these separations could last for years, if not indefinitely.”
USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said that the change restores the “original intent of the law,” requiring applicants to complete the process through the Department of State at a U.S. consulate outside the US. He pointed out that the system is designed to ensure that people use the immigration system properly. “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes,” he said. By having people apply for green cards from their home countries, the government reduces the number of individuals who stay in the U.S. illegally after their residency applications are denied.
“Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process.”
Following the law means most of these cases can be handled by the State Department through U.S. consulates abroad, said USCIS. This also allows USCIS to focus its limited resources on other important cases, including visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, naturalization applications, and other priorities.
“The law was written this way for a reason, and despite the fact that it has been ignored for years, following it will help make our system fairer and more efficient,” Kahler added.
The announcement did not clarify whether applicants would have to stay outside the U.S. during the entire process or whether the policy would affect people whose green card applications are already in progress.
The policy may affect many people already living legally in the U.S., including spouses of U.S. citizens and people with humanitarian protections. Because the green card process can take years, the change could create major disruptions for applicants and their families.
Calling the policy reckless, Meng said, “Students, researchers, entrepreneurs, and other temporary visa holders who followed the law and built their lives in the United States would be forced to abandon their livelihoods in order to apply for permanent residency.” This policy shows “a stunning disregard for the human cost it will impose on hundreds of thousands of people each year. We will pursue every avenue to fight against this reprehensible decision and push for its reversal.”