05/22/2026
US Immigration has now reached peak madness. It has been a longstanding policy of the USCIS to allow adjustment of status in the United States for applicants who are on a non-immigrant visa but have a successful Green Card application to be able to receive their Green Card in the United States without having to leave the US and receive their Green Cards in their home country through what is known as consular processing. This memo (below) apparently is changing this practice. If implemented (and this is still up in the air), this will mean absolute chaos in the American Immigration system AND even more chaos for companies who rely on workers who are LAWFULLY PRESENT in the United States not to mention for spouses of U.S. citizens. Said individuals will be forced out of the US to wait for their Green Cards at Embassies and Consulates who do NOT have the personnel to handle this volume of applicants which means, potentially, these workers and spouses will be absent from the United States for years at a time. This will cause economic ripples throughout the US economy as well as devastate families. We are not talking about people who "walked across the border" or people who are non-citizens who committed crimes here. We are talking about essential workers who followed the rules and did everything correctly and loved ones who, once again, followed the rules and are now being told that they will be kicked out of the US for an unknown period of time to go back to their countries of origin to wait for the US State Department, which once again does not have the personnel to handle these situations by any means, to process these Green Cards. The economic and social fabric of the US will be torn apart.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a new policy memo reiterating the fact that, consistent with long-standing immigration law and immigration court decisions, aliens seeking adjustment of status must do so through consular processing via the Department of State outside of the country. Officers are directed to consider all relevant factors and information on a case-by-case basis when determining whether an alien warrants this extraordinary form of relief.
“We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly. From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances. This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes. When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the U.S. illegally after being denied residency,” said USCIS Spokesman Zach Kahler.
“Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process. Following the law allows the majority of these cases to be handled by the State Department at U.S. consular offices abroad and frees up limited USCIS resources to focus on processing other cases that fall under its purview, including visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, naturalization applications, and other priorities. The law was written this way for a reason, and despite the fact that it has been ignored for years, following it will help make our system fairer and more efficient.”
For more information, see the policy memo to USCIS immigration officers.
