U-turn on green card rules? Not all immigrants required to 'return home' for applications

Washington: The United States has clarified that not all immigrants seeking green cards will be required to return to their home country to make such applications.

The statement from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday appeared to be a partial walk-back on the announcement by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services stating the individuals seeking permanent residency would have to return to their home countries to await their green cards.

“This was just a reminder to officers of their discretionary authority, which has always existed on a case-by-case basis,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to The New York Times.

The DHS said the USCIS memo of May 22 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.

The spokesperson pointed to people who overstay visas or come from countries whose citizens are heavy users of public assistance as groups that could be affected.

Despite the assurances, immigration lawyers have been counselling a wait and watch approach to see how the changes actually unfold as fewer details were immediately available.

Though 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 New York Times reported.

About 14 lakh green cards were granted in 2024, with more than 8.2 lakh approved for people inside the country through a process called “adjustment of status”, according to Department of Homeland Security data.

Over the past two decades, more than 500,000 people have received green cards via adjustment of status each year, except for in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to estimates, over 30,000 Indian H1B visa holders become due for green cards every year.

Despite the assurances, immigration lawyers have been counselling a wait and watch approach to see how the changes actually unfold.

According to Sanjeev Joshipura, Executive Director, Indiaspora, a non-profit organisation, Indian origin immigrants and their families constitute 1.5 per cent of the US population but pay six per cent of the taxes. Sixty per cent of US hotels are owned by Indian immigrants, creating four million jobs.

The May 22 USCIS memo to its officials drew instant backlash from Democrat lawmakers and immigration lawyers who said the move would lead to chaos and family separations and increased expenses.

Joshipura said the move would lead to fewer highly skilled, foreign-born guest workers and their families applying for green cards and embarking on a path to US citizenship.