Green card applicants holding temporary visas must now depart the United States and process their applications from abroad, under a sweeping policy change announced by the Trump administration Friday.
The directive overturns practices that had allowed many applicants to adjust their immigration status without leaving American soil — an accommodation that had become common in recent years.
Roughly half of the approximately one million green card applications filed annually are submitted from within the US, making the new requirement a significant disruption to existing immigration pathways, according to critics.
World Relief, a humanitarian aid organization, issued a sharp rebuke of the policy, calling it “cruel” and “anti-family.” Its president and CEO, Myal Greene, said the rule would fracture households by forcing spouses and parents apart from their children even when those individuals are legally eligible for permanent residency.
“This cruel policy lacks justification, and we urge for its reversal through all possible avenues,” Greene said.
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler defended the shift, arguing it would ease the burden on the agency and streamline how cases are handled globally.
“This policy change will enable the State Department to manage these cases more efficiently at consular offices abroad, allowing USCIS to allocate its resources to other critical areas, including visas for victims of crime and naturalization applications,” Kahler said.
He added that the immigration system was always intended to function with temporary visa holders — including students and seasonal workers — returning home once their authorized stay ends. “When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need for enforcement against those who might remain in the shadows,” he said.
Exceptions to the departure requirement will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances, according to the agency.
The policy is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to restrict legal immigration channels, extending pressure beyond undocumented residents to those pursuing lawful permanent residency.
