After widespread concern among immigrant families and attorneys, the Department of Homeland Security says decisions about requiring applicants to wait abroad will be made on a case-by-case basis rather than through a blanket policy.
The Department of Homeland Security sought on Friday to clarify its announcement last week that immigrants seeking permanent residency would have to return to their home countries to await their green cards, claiming there was no major change in policy and that only some will have to go back.
The clarification appeared to be a partial walk-back of an announcement in a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services news release last week. Despite a longstanding policy of allowing immigrants to remain in the country while they wait for their green cards, it said individuals would now have to go back. At the same time, they wait except in “extraordinary” cases.
But on Friday, the Homeland Security Department said it was not a blanket change and that it would be up to individual immigration officers to decide whether someone should be forced to go abroad to gain a green card. They said that officers have long had such discretion.
“This was just a reminder to officers of their discretionary authority, which has always existed on a case-by-case basis,” to D.H.S. spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson declined to provide a name. The person pointed to people who overstay visas or come from countries whose citizens are heavy users of public assistance as groups that could be affected.
It was a substantial shift from last week’s announcement, but was unlikely to reduce confusion or fear, as details are still scant about who might be affected and how. Even some inside the Homeland Security Department were confused as to the scope of the change when it was publicized.
Although announced with a news release, a senior White House official said this week that the effort was meant to be a housekeeping matter, not a change of strategy. The official discussed internal deliberations on the condition of anonymity.
Some immigration lawyers said their clients were already being asked by U.S.C.I.S. officers in interviews this week why they were applying for green cards in the United States, and if any factors prevented them from applying in their home countries.
“The public backlash has clearly sent the administration scrambling to clean up its own mess,” said Sarah Pierce, a former U.S.C.I.S. official who is now the head of social policy at Third Way, a center-left group.
She added that the “signature” of the administration’s immigration agenda was to “prioritize shock and awe over what is best for the country.”
Outrage over the original announcement was swift. Immigration lawyers widely expected it to be met with legal challenges, but the confusing rollout left them pondering the best way to do so.
“It makes it more difficult to figure out what you’re meaning for when you don’t know what this thing really is,” said Benjamin Johnson, the executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “It’s too early to tell right now what will be the most effective way to challenge this in court.”
Some business groups also pushed back on the policy change as originally described. Neil Bradley, an executive vice president and chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, praised the administration’s efforts to reduce illegal immigration, but said policymakers should build a “more robust” legal immigration system and that the policy change could be “incredibly disruptive for employers.”
About 1.4 million green cards were granted in 2024, with roughly 820,000 approved through a process known as “adjustment of status,” which allows prospective immigrants to apply while living in the United States. Many do so either through sponsorship by their employer, or a close relative such as a spouse.
Green cards can be granted to certain family members of Americans, a range of foreign workers and some people who gained status through humanitarian programs, such as refugees. People with green cards, or permanent residency status, are vetted and can wait years for approval. They must periodically renew their green cards and can eventually apply for citizenship.
The guidance announced last week seemed likely to have the most marked impact on immigrants applying through family sponsorship, since they are less likely to have an underlying business visa to live and work in the country.
