The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that immigrants who are in the country temporarily must apply for green cards through consulates outside the United States – “except in extraordinary circumstances.”
This was reported by the BBC.
A USCIS memo said the new policy closes a “loophole” that allowed visa holders and visitors to apply for green cards while in the U.S. It is part of the Trump administration's efforts to curb illegal immigration.
“When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to search for and remove those who choose to go underground and remain in the United States illegally after being denied permanent residency,” USCIS said.
They believe this makes the system “fairer and more efficient.” USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said that from now on, a foreigner who is in the United States temporarily and wants to get a green card must return to his country to apply – except in extraordinary circumstances. According to him, visits “should not serve as the first step in the green card process.”
Kahler added that compliance with the law allows most cases to be processed by the U.S. Department of State at consulates abroad and frees up USCIS resources for other priorities — visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking and naturalization applications.
USCIS also noted that the move is consistent with longstanding immigration law and immigration court decisions. Immigration officers have been instructed to consider each case individually, taking into account all relevant circumstances.
The US Department of Homeland Security, which controls USCIS, wrote on social media: “The era of abuse of our country's immigration system is over.”
Critics of the new policy say the previous system allowed families to stay together during the lengthy application process. The new mechanism could also make it harder for immigrants who leave the U.S. hoping to get a green card to return.
Michael Valverde, who until last year was a senior USCIS official under Republican and Democratic administrations, told the BBC's US partner CBS that the decision would “disrupt the plans of hundreds of thousands of families and employers every year”. He called the move “largely unprecedented” and would significantly limit legal immigration to the US, adding that people who had been following the rules in good faith now faced enormous uncertainty.
According to the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, more than a million legal immigrants are currently waiting for their applications to adjust their status and receive a green card. A green card, or lawful permanent resident status, allows a person to live and work in the United States permanently. Obtaining one is a multi-step process that can take anywhere from several months to several years.