U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Updates Green Card Application Process

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a memo on Friday directing foreign students, temporary workers, and other immigrants to return to their home countries to apply for green cards. The memo states that applicants who are in the United States on temporary visas must leave the country to complete the process, except in extraordinary circumstances.

USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said the policy returns to the original intent of the law. "We're returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation's immigration system properly," Kahler said in a press release.

The memo clarifies that the adjustment of status process was never intended to replace the traditional pathway of applying for an immigrant visa from abroad. Officials said applicants must still return home even if they meet the requirements for permanent residency when their visa expires.

Kahler stated that the change reduces the need to locate individuals who remain in the United States after being denied residency. The policy applies to those who have overstayed their visas and those granted humanitarian parole.

Temporary visa holders are the largest group affected by the memo. These include H-1B skilled workers, F-1 students, B-1/B-2 tourists and business visitors, and L-1 intra-company transferees. U.S. issues roughly 1 million green cards each year. A significant portion of these go to family-based applicants, who are not affected by the new guidance.