DHS Halts Most Green Card Approvals Under Trump Administration Green Card Rules
Under trump administration green card rules, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday it will cease granting green card applications except in extraordinary circumstances. US Citizenship and Immigration Services said a temporary U.S. resident seeking a green card must now return to their home country to apply unless the case is extraordinary.
The agency described adjustment of status inside the United States as an “extraordinary form of relief.” It also said its new memorandum sets out a plan for mass denials, after green card approvals were cut in half over the last year because many applications were not processed.
USCIS Adjustment Rule
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 policy reaches people inside the United States who were pursuing legal permanent residence through adjustment of status. Since 1980, 56 percent of legal immigrants have used that path. USCIS, a component of DHS, said Congress created the adjustment provision in 1952 because it was causing hardship for Americans and their families to leave the country only to get a visa and return.
1.2 Million Applicants
The article says USCIS has gone from the quiet-quit to walking out on 1.2 million green card applicants. That figure points to the scale of the change: the agency is not merely slowing the process, but narrowing who can finish it inside the United States.
The same policy intersects with visa categories that already carry different rules. The article says the K-1 visa was designed for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens to come temporarily for the purpose of getting married, while H-1B and L-1 skilled work visas explicitly allow dual intent, meaning a person can come temporarily for work and pursue a green card at the same time.
For applicants already in the country on temporary visas, the practical effect is straightforward. Those seeking adjustment of status now face a return-home requirement unless they can fit the extraordinary-circumstances exception, and DHS has said it will stop granting applications outside that narrow path.
