The Trump administration announced Friday that it is dramatically changing the green card application process by requiring most applicants to leave the United States and complete the process from their home countries rather than adjusting their status while remaining inside the U.S.
The policy shift, outlined in a memo from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), would drastically limit the use of “adjustment of status,” a long-standing immigration pattern that allows eligible immigrants already living in the United States to apply for permanent residency.
Under the new policy, USCIS said green cards would only be issued to applicants already inside the U.S. under “extraordinary circumstances.” Most applicants would instead be required to pursue residency through traditional consular processing abroad.
“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes,” USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said in a statement.
Kahler added that the change is intended to reduce the number of immigrants who remain in the United States illegally after residency applications are denied.
The policy is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year, including spouses of American citizens, temporary visa holders and foreign workers who traditionally relied on adjustment of status to transition into lawful permanent residency while staying in the country.
According to Department of Homeland Security data cited by The New York Times, roughly 1.4 million green cards were issued in 2024, with more than 820,000 granted through adjustment of status applications filed by individuals already in the United States.
Immigration attorneys and former Department of Homeland Security officials say it could create major delays because American consulates overseas are already heavily backlogged.
“Our consular processing system through which they would have to apply is already overburdened,” former USCIS policy analyst Sarah Pierce told The New York Times. “So that means we could have families separated for months or years.”
Of course, many like Pierce ignore the option for families to return to their country of origin together.
Lawyers also expressed uncertainty about how narrowly the administration intends to define “extraordinary circumstances,” with many predicting immediate legal challenges once the policy is formally implemented.
Supporters of the change, however, argue the administration is attempting to restore the original intent of immigration law by discouraging people from entering or remaining in the country while seeking permanent legal status.
It also reflects the Trump administration’s broader effort to tighten immigration enforcement and reduce pathways vulnerable to abuse or exploitation.
Throughout both his first and second presidencies, Trump has argued the Americab immigration system increasingly incentivizes people to remain in the country indefinitely through lengthy administrative processes, appeals and legal loopholes even when they may ultimately be denied residency.
The announcement represents one of the most significant overhauls of the legal immigration process since Trump returned to office and signals the administration intends to continue pursuing a more restrictive approach to both legal and illegal immigration moving forward.
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The whole thing is simple … COME HERE LEGALLY or STAY HOME.
To become a legal resident is NOT a RIGHT for anyone.
It is to be done through the proper LEGAL channels.
We have just so much land, houses, and jobs for people.
When we are flooded with illegals:
Housing prices go up for Americans and shortages of housing becomes a problem.
Jobs get scarce for Americans.
Schools and hospitals become way too crowded and services get ‘log-jammed’ to the extent that people can’t get the schooling and hospital services that they need to survive.
Land gets over-run with people in places where we need open land for cultivation, forests, and for many other necessities.
There are just so many farms with which to get food from.
Too many mouths to feed causes prices for food to rise while some food substances become scarce … that causes hunger for all too many LEGAL Americans.
And criminal problems become too common for the size of most local police departments to be able to properly handle.