Administration forces green card abroad

The Trump administration said on Friday that many foreigners already in the United States will have to leave the country and apply for green cards from abroad, reversing a practice that has allowed people with legal status to complete the process without departing. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the change applies to nonimmigrants in the country temporarily who want lawful permanent residence, except in what it called “extraordinary circumstances.” The agency did not give an effective date or say how the policy would apply to cases already in progress. (nprillinois.org) Immigration lawyers, aid groups and former officials said the move could affect hundreds of thousands of people who had expected to adjust status inside the country. ### Who is being told to leave the United States to apply? USCIS said the new approach covers nonimmigrants such as students, temporary workers and tourists who are in the country for a limited period and later seek permanent residence. The agency said those applicants must “return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” with USCIS officers deciding whether a case qualifies. For over half a century, foreign nationals with legal status have generally been able to apply for and complete the permanent residence process inside the United States, according to the Associated Press and The Indian Express accounts of the agency’s announcement. Those affected can include people on student and work visas, as well as others who under prior practice could pursue permanent residence without first leaving the country. (nprillinois.org) ### What reason did the administration give for the change? Zach Kahler, a USCIS spokesperson, said applying from a home country would reduce the need to locate and remove people who remain in the United States after a denial. USCIS also said the policy reflects what it described as the original intent of the law and closes what the agency called a loophole. (nprillinois.org) The agency said, “Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose.” USCIS added that such visits “should not function as the first step in the Green Card process,” according to the statement carried by multiple outlets. (nprillinois.org) ### Are there exceptions for some applicants? The Associated Press reported that USCIS said in an emailed statement that people who provide an “economic benefit” or serve a “national interest” could likely remain in the United States while applying. The agency’s public statement otherwise referred to “extraordinary circumstances” without spelling out a broader list of exemptions. (indianexpress.com) That leaves two standards in circulation: the formal language about extraordinary circumstances and the separate explanation to reporters about economic benefit or national interest. Neither of the sourced reports said USCIS had yet published a detailed public framework defining those categories. (nprillinois.org) ### How large is the group that could be affected? Doug Rand, a former senior adviser at USCIS during the Biden administration, told the Associated Press that about 600,000 people already in the United States apply for a green card each year. The New York Times separately reported that the change was likely to affect hundreds of thousands of people, according to search results summarizing its report. (nprillinois.org) The administration has not published, in the sourced reports reviewed here, a narrower estimate of how many of those applicants would now be pushed into consular processing abroad. USCIS also did not say whether applicants would have to remain outside the United States for the full duration of the process. (nprillinois.org) ### What remains unanswered for employers and applicants? USCIS said the State Department’s consular offices abroad would handle the majority of these cases under the new approach, and that the shift would free agency resources for other case types, including naturalization and visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking. That explanation addressed agency workload, but the reports reviewed did not include processing timelines, transition rules or country-by-country consular capacity. (nprillinois.org) For employers, the immediate uncertainty is procedural rather than rhetorical: the agency has not said when the policy begins, how pending green card filings will be treated, or how officers will apply the stated exceptions. Those details are likely to determine how broadly the change reaches temporary workers already in the United States and the companies that employ them. (nprillinois.org) (indianexpress.com)