The Trump administration has issued a new guidance memo that could require many immigrants who are seeking a green card – lawful permanent residence in the United States – to leave the country and apply for it from their home nation instead of from within the U.S. The memo gives immigration officers the discretion to make decisions on a case-by-case basis.
The new guidance could affect hundreds of thousands of people a year, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. Since the turn of the century, about half or more of green cards have gone to people who are already living in the U.S., rather than to new arrivals from abroad.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the U.S. granted a total of about 1.36 million green cards. A majority of them (58%) went to people who were already living in the country. By comparison, 42% went to new immigrant arrivals who applied through U.S. consulates in their home countries.
The administration’s new guidance could limit a process known as “adjustment of status” (AOS), which allows immigrants who are already living in the U.S. on a legal temporary basis to become permanent residents without leaving the country.
The administration says the guidance is “returning to the original intent of the law” and would close loopholes in the immigration process. But critics of the memo say it could lead to processing delays, family separations and job losses, as well as limit pathways to legal immigration.
Some groups are more likely than others to be affected
Some immigrant groups are especially likely to be affected by the memo because they’re more likely to adjust their status while already living in the U.S.:
Nearly all refugees and asylum seekers (more than 99% each) become permanent residents through adjustment of status.
A majority of employment-based green cards (69% in 2024) are also issued within the U.S. (Many of these applicants first arrive on temporary visas, like H-1B visas, and later transition to a green card without leaving the U.S.)
Among those seeking permanent resident status, most immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (such as spouses, unmarried children under age 21 and parents) are already in the country. In 2024, 60% of immediate relatives who received green cards did so by adjusting their status within the U.S.
