US tightens Green Card rules for foreign visa holders

WASHINGTON DC: US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a pretty big policy change that means most foreign nationals trying to get permanent residency in the United States may have to leave the country first and then do the immigrant visa process from abroad, instead of using the long-used “adjustment of status” route, which has been around for years.

In the new policy memo, people who are already inside the US on temporary visas, like students, tourists, or temporary workers, will generally be told to finish their green card steps through American consulates, which are overseen by the United States Department of State.

This is described as part of President Donald Trump’s wider immigration plan, designed to tighten both the legal and the not-so-legal immigration channels.

USCIS said that if someone files an adjustment of status application while still in the US, it will now only be granted in “extraordinary circumstances” and then handled on a case-by-case basis.

A USCIS spokesman, Zach Kahler, said the whole idea is to bring back what the administration views as the original intention of immigration law, and to make sure applicants are following the correct visa pathway.

The memo also tells immigration officers to look closely at whether an applicant’s actions in the US didn’t match the purpose of the visa or parole status they used to enter.

Immigration advocates and critics, though, are warning that this could cause long family breakups, because those who are required to depart the US might hit major delays at overseas consulates.

There are reports that the policy could impact spouses of US citizens and applicants who have US-born children.