Trump Administration Requires Most Green Card Seekers to Leave U.S. First

The Trump administration announced a significant policy shift on Friday, mandating that most immigrants currently in the United States on temporary visas must return to their home countries to apply for green cards through consular processing. This change reverses the longstanding practice allowing many immigrants to adjust their status to permanent residency without leaving the country.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesperson Zach Kahler stated, “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.” He explained that this approach aligns with the law’s intent and reduces the need to locate and remove individuals who remain illegally in the U.S. after being denied residency.

The policy targets non-immigrant visa holders such as students, temporary workers, and tourists, who are expected to stay in the U.S. only briefly for specific purposes. Kahler emphasized, “Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process.” He added that shifting these cases to U.S. consulates abroad would free up USCIS resources to focus on other priorities, including visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, as well as naturalization applications.

The memo instructs USCIS officers to treat adjustment of status applications as “extraordinary” and an act of “administrative grace,” suggesting that most green card applicants should complete the process overseas. Officers are directed to consider an applicant’s choice to seek adjustment of status within the U.S. as an adverse factor.

While the policy does not precisely outline exemptions, it suggests that holders of “dual intent” visas, such as H-1B workers, as well as refugees and asylees, may still be eligible to adjust status without leaving the country.

Former USCIS official Doug Rand noted that about one million people apply for green cards annually, with roughly half applying from within the U.S. He said, “The purpose of this policy is exclusion,” pointing out that the Trump administration has banned entry from over 100 countries, making consular processing impossible for many. Rand added, “The primary impact of this appears to be to make it difficult or impossible for very large numbers of U.S. citizens to get on with their lives with the people they’ve chosen to marry who came here legally.”

Michael Valverde, a former senior USCIS official, described the move as “largely unprecedented” and said it would disrupt the plans of hundreds of thousands of families and employers annually. He warned that people who have followed the rules now face “tremendous uncertainty.”

The policy also intersects with existing Trump administration restrictions, including travel bans affecting citizens of 39 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, and a pause on immigrant visas for people from 75 countries. Many who have overstayed visas risk triggering 10-year bans if they leave the U.S. to apply for permanent residency.

The Christian humanitarian group World Relief condemned the policy as “cruel” and “anti-family.” Its president and CEO, Myal Greene, said the change would force families apart, stating, “This policy, impacting individuals who meet the legal requirements for a green card, will force apart husbands from wives and children from their parents. There’s simply no compelling reason for this cruel, anti-family policy change, and I hope and pray it will be reversed, whether by administrative reconsideration, congressional action or the courts.”