Washington — The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services disclosed Friday that foreign nationals residing in the United States must leave the country and apply for a green card from their home nation, barring “extraordinary circumstances.” The rule, rolled out by the Trump administration, applies to an estimated “hundreds of thousands of green‑card applicants a year,” according to agency officials, and marks a stark departure from the half‑century‑old practice of allowing in‑country filing.
The policy guidance, published on the USCIS website, instructs “an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply.” A more detailed memo for USCIS staff suggests stricter discretionary standards, though the language leaves room for case‑by‑case interpretation.
Immigration attorneys rushed to weigh in. “It has a chilling effect because we have some cases that we were going to proceed and I can tell already, we should wait and see what’s going on,” Flavia Santos Lloyd said. Charles Kuck of the law firm Kuck & Associates called the move “simply an attempt to try to limit and scare people away from the legal immigration process,” adding, “This is a scare tactic.” Kevin Miner, a partner at Fragomen, said dual‑intent visa holders such as H‑1B workers “probably are cases that will continue to precede business as usual and that we won’t see a significant impact.”
The Department of Homeland Security, responding to AP inquiries, said the shift “won’t prevent anyone ‘who legitimately and properly’ qualifies from obtaining a green card,” and added that the policy “will have no noticeable impact on highly qualified applicants and skilled professionals who have followed the law.” The agency also noted that some applicants will need to work with the State Department overseas.
Practitioners reported that the new rule is already prompting additional documentation. One green‑card applicant was asked to file a form justifying why they should be allowed to apply from U.S. soil, and was instructed to submit 2025 tax returns, a letter from their employer stating salary and recent bank statements to demonstrate they would not become a “public charge.” Immigration law firm Boundless wrote that officers appear to be “applying existing discretionary standards more rigorously,” but that the policy does not outright stop adjustment‑of‑status for “eligible applicants” in certain visa categories.
The rollout leaves many questions unanswered. Lawyers are monitoring the situation and have warned that the uncertainty could deter businesses from sponsoring green‑card petitions. “I don’t want everybody to panic,” Lloyd said. “My advice to them is wait and see.” The full impact of the policy will likely unfold over the coming months as USCIS staff interpret the memo and applicants navigate the new overseas filing requirement.