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Foreigners in the US who want a green card will need to leave and apply in their home country, the Trump administration announced Friday in a surprise change to a longstanding policy that sowed confusion and concern among aid groups, immigration lawyers and immigrants.
Asia One reports that for over a century, foreign nationals with legal status have been able to apply for and complete the entire process for permanent residence in the United States, including individuals married to U.S. citizens, holders of work and student visas, and refugees and asylum seekers, among others.
The announcement from US Citizenship and Immigration Services said foreigners who are in the \us temporarily and who want to apply to become permanent residents, or green card holders, have to return home and apply there, except in “extraordinary circumstances.” USCIS officers would decide whether applicants meet those.
It is the latest step by the Trump administration, making legal immigration more difficult for foreigners already in the US and for those hoping to go there.
Hundreds of thousands apply for green cards from the US each year.
“The goal of this policy is very explicit. Senior officials in this administration have said over and over that they want fewer people to get permanent residency because permanent residency is a pathway to citizenship and they want to block that path for as many people as possible,” said \dloug Rand, a former senior advisor at USCIS during the Biden administration, who afdded that about 600,000 people alteady in the US apply each year for a green card.
