US ends in-country green card process, orders applicants home

The Trump administration announced Friday that foreigners temporarily in the United States must return to their home countries to apply for permanent residency, ending a longstanding practice that had allowed applicants to adjust their immigration status without leaving U.S. soil.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy memo eliminates the "adjustment of status" procedure — a move that immigration advocacy groups say will affect a broad range of visa holders across the country — and is part of a broader series of Trump administration restrictions that have already led to more than 100,000 visa revocations since January.

USCIS issued a policy memo directing officers to apply the new rule, under which applicants must leave the United States and file for green cards through the State Department from their home countries. Officers were instructed to consider "relevant factors on a case-by-case basis" when determining whether "extraordinary relief" from the requirement is warranted, according to The Korea Times.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the change as a correction to longstanding abuse of the immigration system. "An alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply," the department said in its policy announcement. "This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes," the department added.

USCIS said the shift is expected to free up agency resources previously devoted to adjustment-of-status applications, allowing officers to redirect capacity to other cases.

The policy drew sharp criticism from humanitarian organizations. HIAS, an aid group that provides services to refugees and immigrants, said the rule would force trafficking survivors, abused children and neglected children to return to countries where they face danger.

The announcement is the latest in a series of migration restrictions under President Donald Trump, The Korea Times reported. The State Department has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump took office in January 2026. The administration earlier shortened visa durations for students, cultural exchange visitors and media members.

The new policy represents one of the most direct changes to legal immigration procedure since Trump returned to office, requiring applicants who had been living in the United States to restart the green card process from their home countries.