The US government announced a new rule on Friday that will require foreigners leaving the US and applying for a green card from their home country.
The announcement comes as the latest step in a series of efforts already taken by the Trump administration to ban and limit the entry of people from dozens of countries.
What did USCIS say about the new rule?
“From now on, an alien who is temporarily in the US and wants a green card must return to his or her country to apply, except in exceptional circumstances,” Zach Kahler, a spokesman for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said in a statement.
“Nonimmigrants, such as students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the United States for a short period of time and for a specific purpose,” Kahler said. “Our system is designed to release them when their journey is over,” he said.
“Their travel should not be considered a first step in the green card process.”
Kahler said that requiring green card seekers to apply from their home nation “reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to remain in anonymity and remain in the US illegally after being denied residence.”
Announcement creates confusion
according to Washington PostOver one million green cards are issued in the US every year and so far, more than half of the applicants are already in the US.
Immigration experts are trying to understand the policy memorandum to find out to whom it will apply.
USCIS has not clarified details about the new rule, such as when the change will be implemented, whether individuals will have to live in another country throughout the process, or how the new rule will apply to foreigners whose green card applications are already underway.
USCIS described the change as returning to “the original intent of the law” and closing “a loophole.”
However, immigration lawyers have argued that changing their status in the US is a long-standing practice for many people and that it may be unsafe for many to return home, and many do not have a US embassy in their home countries to apply.
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Edited by: Wesley Dockery