Confusion and Worry Spread After Abrupt Green Card Process Change

Millions of immigrants across the United States are grappling with uncertainty after the Trump administration abruptly reinterpreted the rules for obtaining a green card, effectively requiring most foreign nationals already living in the country to return to their home nations to apply for permanent residency. The policy shift, announced through a USCIS memorandum issued on May 21, has sparked widespread confusion among immigrants, employers, and legal experts alike.

What Changed

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, which fundamentally reinterprets “adjustment of status” — the longstanding practice of applying for a green card from within the United States — as an “extraordinary form of relief” rather than a standard pathway. The memo declares that adjustment of status “is a matter of discretion and administrative grace not designed to supersede the regular consular processing of immigrant visas.”

According to Forbes, in fiscal year 2024, 782,770 of 1,356,760 people — 58% of all new permanent residents — gained their green cards through adjustment of status while already in the United States. The new policy would effectively redirect the vast majority of these applicants to consular processing at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.

USCIS Spokesperson Zach Kahler confirmed the change, stating: “From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.”

Scale of the Disruption

The impact is staggering. More than 1 million legal immigrants were already waiting for approval on adjustment-of-status applications at the time of the announcement, according to data from the Cato Institute. The Department of Homeland Security declared on social media: “The era of abusing our nation’s immigration system is over.”

However, immigration attorneys and former officials warn that the change will primarily harm those who have followed the rules. Michael Valverde, a former senior USCIS official who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, told the BBC: “This is a largely unprecedented move that will limit lawful immigration to the US greatly. People who followed the rules faithfully now face tremendous uncertainty.”

Legal Controversy

Immigration attorneys widely dispute the memo’s legal foundation. The memo argues that adjustment of status under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act has always been intended as an exception to consular processing. However, attorneys note that adjustment of status has been a standard practice for at least 70 years, and Congress has passed laws — such as the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act — that explicitly assume its widespread use.

Cyrus Mehta, an immigration attorney, wrote on social media: “While adjustment of status is discretionary under INA 245 it has never been interpreted as an extraordinary form of relief and USCIS is inventing a new standard to deprive noncitizens from getting green cards in the U.S.” He called the memo’s interpretation a “giant unfaithful leap” in statutory interpretation.

Shev Dalal-Dheini, Senior Director of Government Relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told NPR: “USCIS is trying to upend decades of processing of adjustment of status. This all applies very broadly to anyone seeking a green card.”

By issuing a memo rather than engaging in formal rulemaking, USCIS has increased the likelihood that the policy will be challenged in court under the Administrative Procedure Act. The Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright decision, which limits deference to federal agencies, may allow courts to strike down the memo.

Who Is Affected

The policy could affect virtually everyone seeking a green card from within the United States, including:

• H-1B visa holders — Skilled workers, many of whom have lived and worked in the U.S. for years
• Student visa (F-1) holders — International students pursuing higher education
• Spouses of U.S. citizens — Family-based applicants
• Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders — Individuals from countries experiencing conflict or disaster

Liz Goss of Goss & Associates told Forbes: “The memo could affect everyone, including H-1B visa holders, people on Temporary Protected Status and others. The memo states that it is up to an officer’s discretion.”

Doug Rand, a former senior advisor at USCIS during the Biden administration, offered a stark assessment to NPR: “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 path to citizenship and they want to block that path for as many people as possible.”

A Catch-22 for Many

For individuals from countries subject to existing travel bans or visa pauses, returning home to apply for a green card could effectively trap them outside the United States. The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has been closed since August 2021, and individuals from countries on the travel ban list who leave may be barred from re-entering.

World Relief, a humanitarian and refugee resettlement organization, warned: “If families are told that the non-citizen family member must return to his or her country of origin to process their immigrant visa, but immigrant visas are not being processed there, it’s a Catch-22. These policies will effectively create an indefinite separation of families.”

Consular Processing Bottlenecks

U.S. consulates abroad are already severely backlogged. As of April 2026, L-1 and H-1B temporary visa appointments in India were limited to 2027, with nothing available in 2026. Jonathan Grode of Green & Spiegel told Forbes: “This is a very vague memo that is putting a lot of subjectivity on what has become a very regular process. And then on top of all that, there is no way the State Department has the personnel to process this.”

Grode added: “I think the motivation is to get immigration numbers down. I think it is also about changing behavior, to get people to not go through the process and remove themselves because they can’t do an adjustment of status. So, fundamentally, it’s to further reduce immigration.”

Disproportionate Impact on Indian Nationals

Indian nationals represent the largest group affected by this policy. The green card backlog for Indians already stands at 134 years under per-country caps, and over 1.2 million Indian-American families are reportedly in limbo. Multiple Indian media outlets have extensively covered the impact, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NDTV that the policy “is not about India” specifically.

Broader Context

This policy is the latest in a series of Trump administration actions restricting both legal and illegal immigration. The administration has imposed bans or restrictions on citizens from nearly 40 countries, paused issuing immigrant visas from 75 countries, and launched large-scale immigration enforcement operations in U.S. cities. A record government shutdown over immigration enforcement funding ended in early May 2026.

What’s Next

Key questions remain unanswered. USCIS has not specified when the policy takes effect, whether pending applications are affected, or what constitutes “extraordinary circumstances” that would allow an exception. Multiple legal challenges are expected, and attorneys anticipate that the memo will face scrutiny under the Administrative Procedure Act.

For the millions of immigrants caught in the middle, the path forward remains deeply uncertain. As Jonathan Grode put it: “I think we’re going to find out over the next couple of weeks what happens when people go through their adjustment interviews.”