It could soon be harder to get a green card — and that’s a good thing 

A recently released policy memorandum from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services could make it far more difficult for aliens admitted as nonimmigrant visitors or paroled into the country to obtain green cards without first leaving the U.S.

If it is implemented aggressively, this could change adjustment of status in the U.S. from a commonly used legal immigration procedure into a remedy that is only available to applicants who can establish “unusual or even outstanding” reasons for adjustment.

Millions of nonimmigrant visitors and parolees have become lawful permanent residents by applying for adjustment of status in the U.S. instead of returning to their native countries and going through normal consular processing. Lawful permanent status, via green card, was granted to an average of 540,000 adjustment of status applicants a year who applied from within the United States between fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2023. 

The memorandum reminds officials who process applications that adjustment of status “is a matter of discretion and administrative grace not designed to supersede the regular consular processing of immigrant visas.” Statutory adjustment provisions state that the immigration status of an applicant “may be adjusted by the attorney general, in his discretion and under such regulations as he may prescribe, to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.”

The memorandum states further that Congress expects aliens admitted as nonimmigrant visitors or paroled into the country to leave when their........

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