Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Foreigners seeking to adjust their immigration status in the United States to secure green cards will have to do so from outside the country via the State Department, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said on May 22.
The USCIS announced the move in a policy memo, which directed officers to consider relevant factors and information on a case-by-case basis when determining whether extraordinary relief is warranted. “An alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply,” said the US Department of Homeland Security, which has oversight of USCIS. “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes.”
The USCIS said the new policy will free up agency resources to focus on processing other cases.
HIAS, an aid group that provides services to refugees, among other groups of immigrants, said the USCIS was forcing survivors of trafficking and abused and neglected children to return to the dangerous countries they fled in order to process their applications for green cards granting them permanent residency in the US. But the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, wrote on X: “The era of abusing our nation’s immigration system is over.” “We are returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly,” USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said.
Obtaining a green card is a multistep process that can take months to several years.
Millions waiting There are currently more than a million legal immigrants waiting for approval on their adjustment-of-status green card applications, according to the Cato Institute’s director of immigration studies. The Trump administration has instated bans or restrictions on citizens from nearly 40 countries. Another policy from the administration this year has paused issuing visas to immigrant visa applicants from 75 countries.
