Immigration

Trump Policy Could Send Legal Residents Abroad To Apply for Green Cards

A new memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would require green card applicants to apply for permanent residency abroad—but the law it cites may say the opposite.

Tosin Akintola | 5.26.2026 12:20 PM

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(Illustration: Michael Brochstein/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom/Homeland Security/X)

As the Trump administration continues its deportation crackdown, it's finding new ways to make it harder for people to immigrate to the United States legally. 

On Thursday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a policy memo requiring anyone seeking an adjustment of immigration status to do so "outside the United States," unless they qualify for "extraordinary circumstances."

This policy—which is effective immediately but lacks the force of law, as it's a guidance document—would be a sharp departure from the current process that allows those here on temporary status to apply for permanent residency without leaving the country. According to the memo, the shift in policy is an attempt to "faithfully apply the statutes" of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), specifically section 245, which governs the process for transitioning from temporary to permanent residence........

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