In a major move, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services is reportedly planning to ask people waiting for Green Cards to leave the country and complete the process from their home countries.
According to a report in the Daily Caller, USCIS has issued new guidance directing immigration officers to treat the shift from temporary non-immigrant status to permanent immigrant status under Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act as a process that should generally happen outside the United States.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the agency wants to clearly maintain the distinction between temporary admission and permanent residence.
In simple terms, people who enter the US on temporary visas and later seek permanent residence may have to return to their home countries and wait there.
The move is not aimed at illegal immigrants, but at those who entered the US legally on temporary visas such as B1/B2, F-1, M-1, J-1, H-1B and O-1.
These visas are meant for tourists, students, exchange visitors, skilled workers and other temporary categories. They are technically issued with non-immigrant intent, meaning the person entered the US for a specific temporary purpose and not to settle permanently.
However, many such visa holders later apply for permanent residence or Green Cards. Depending on the applicant’s country of origin, the waiting period can vary sharply.
For Indians, the Green Card backlog is extremely long, often stretching for many years. During this time, they usually continue living and working in the US by renewing their temporary visas.
But the Donald Trump administration is now reportedly moving towards a system where such applicants may have to return to their home countries while waiting for their Green Cards.
The new USCIS guidance says people seeking lawful permanent residency would generally be required to go back to their home country, complete screening procedures, and obtain an immigrant visa through the US Department of State before re-entering America as permanent immigrants.
Immigrant visas can be employment-based, family-based or investor-based. In such cases, the applicant makes the intention clear before entering the US that he or she wants to live permanently in America.
“Under President Trump, USCIS is returning to the original intent of the law and reinforcing the proper distinction between temporary admission and permanent residence. Aliens who come to the United States temporarily and later seek permanent residency should pursue an immigrant visa through the proper channels in their home countries before being admitted as immigrants,” Joseph Edlow said.
The document also states that individuals should be allowed to remain in the US and complete the adjustment of status process domestically only in “extraordinary circumstances.”
In such cases, vetting would be conducted by USCIS officers inside the US, instead of through the standard immigrant visa process abroad.
If implemented strictly, the move could create major uncertainty for thousands of legal immigrants, especially Indians on H-1B visas who have been living and working in the US for years while waiting for their Green Cards.
