DHS Limits Green Cards in 1.2 Million Case Uscis Green Card Memo Impact
Under the uscis green card memo impact, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that it will cease granting green card applications except in extraordinary circumstances. USCIS said an alien in the US temporarily who wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, with only narrow exceptions.
The agency said the change affects 1.2 million green card applicants. It also described adjustment of status inside the United States as an extraordinary form of relief, putting a sharper limit on a process Congress created in 1952.
USCIS memorandum language
In its memorandum, USCIS 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.” It also said: “Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the US for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over.”
The memo places that rule on a process that has long been used inside the country. Since 1980, most legal immigrants — 56 percent — have adjusted status inside the United States, and Congress created the provision in 1952.
1.2 Million Applicants
DHS and USCIS have slashed green card approvals in half over the last year, primarily by not processing applications. The new memo goes further by telling most temporary residents to apply from abroad rather than remain in the United States while seeking permanent status.
That shift reaches beyond a single form or filing office. It touches students, temporary workers, people on tourist visas, and other nonimmigrants covered by the memorandum’s language.
Adjustment of Status
USCIS called adjustment of status inside the United States an extraordinary form of relief, but the memo also points to categories of visas that Congress and the immigration system have treated differently. The K-1 visa was designed for fiancé(e)s of US citizens to come temporarily for the purpose of getting married, and the H-1B and L-1 skilled work visas explicitly permit dual intent.
Employment-based immigrants are explicitly entitled to change jobs based on a long-pending adjustment process. For people already inside the country, the practical effect of the memo is a tighter path to green card approval and a stronger presumption that the application must happen from home unless an extraordinary circumstance applies.
The immediate issue for applicants is whether they fall into that narrow exception. For anyone inside the United States on a temporary basis, the memorandum’s rule changes the filing route first, before any green card decision itself.
