Changes to Green Card Process Cause Confusion and Concern

A new federal rule could force thousands of immigrants to return to their home countries before applying for green cards. This change has left applicants and immigration lawyers trying to understand its impact on attaining permanent residence.

On Friday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency managing the green card system, announced that only in “extraordinary circumstances” would individuals already in the U.S. be allowed to apply for permanent residence from within the country. Otherwise, applicants must visit an American consulate in their native country.

Organizations advocating for immigrants say this adjustment may decrease green card applications. In 2024, about 1.4 million green cards were issued, with over 800,000 recipients modifying their status while in the U.S.

Charles Kuck, an immigration lawyer and past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, highlighted that this shift poses significant challenges for immigrants married to U.S. citizens who typically resolve their status issues domestically before seeking a green card. “This is an effort to make immigration so difficult that people will opt to return home,” Kuck commented.

Zach Kahler, an agency spokesman, explained the policy intends to close a loophole allowing immigrants to “disappear into the shadows and remain in the U.S. illegally after residency denial.”