06/03/2026
New Adjustment of Status Policy Announced by the Trump Administration and Why it Will Likely be Challenged in Court and Not Prevail
On May 21, 2026, the current Trump administration issued a Policy Memorandum, PM-602-0199, stating that USCIS “will grant ‘Adjustment of Status’ only in extraordinary circumstances”. In addition, the government claims that “adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is a matter of discretion and administrative grace not designed to supersede the regular consular processing of immigrant visas.”
https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/us-citizenship-and-immigration-services-will-grant-adjustment-of-status-only-in-extraordinary
The memorandum inaccurately cites prior Supreme Court decisions in an attempt to support their contention that Adjustment of Status in the U.S. was intended to be an “extraordinary” or unusual act of discretion. For example, the memorandum cites the 1978 Supreme Court case, Elkins v. Moreno, 435 U.S. 647, 667, as stating “adjustment of status is a matter of grace, not right.” While this is a direct quote from the decision, the memorandum excluded the word that began the sentence, “Although,” and the words that followed it. The decision in fact clarified that unless there are adverse factors “it would appear that any respondent could adjust his or her status to that of a permanent resident without difficulty.” Elkins v. Moreno, 435 U.S. 647, 668 (1978)
It should also be worth noting, that in an effort to find support of their claim, the administration had to use a partial sentence from a 1978 case that was not even related to an Adjustment of Status, but instead was a case about a class action by nonimmigrants seeking domiciliary status for tuition purposes at Maryland State University, that merely mentioned “Adjustment of Status.” Elkins v. Moreno, 435 U.S. 647 (1978)
This unlawful new “policy” raises numerous additional legal concerns, and we anticipate multiple lawsuits will be filed challenging the administration’s arbitrary interpretation of the law. In addition, we expect that these lawsuits will prevail and prevent the administration from manipulating the law to justify its improper ex*****on and support their anti-immigrant agenda.
