The administration of US President Donald Trump announced on Friday a new policy that would force immigrants legally residing in the United States to return to their countries of origin to apply for a green card (permanent residency), in a move that would disrupt one of the most widely used pathways for legal immigration to the country.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services presented the new memo as a “return to the original purpose of the law,” while immigrant rights advocates described it as a “cruel and confusing” policy targeting people who have lived and worked legally in the United States for years.
Under the new policy, immigrants who have lived and worked legally in the United States will be required to return to their home countries to complete the process of applying for permanent residency, instead of completing it from within the country as was previously the case, according to The Hill newspaper.
At the same time, the US State Department suspended processing of immigration visa applications in 75 different countries.
Immigration spokesman Zach Kahler said the department is “restoring the original purpose of the law to ensure that foreigners follow the correct immigration pathways,” adding that anyone temporarily in the United States who wants to obtain a green card “will have to return to their country to apply, except in exceptional circumstances.”
He added that this policy “prevents the exploitation of legal loopholes” and reduces the number of people remaining in the United States illegally after their applications are rejected.
Immigrants in the United States were previously able to take advantage of the “adjustment of legal status” system, which allows them to move from a temporary visa to permanent residency while in the country, such as students, work permit holders, or those married to U.S. citizens.
David Beer, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, said that this system has been used “for more than half of legal immigrants over the past generation,” considering the current administration to be “the most hostile to legal immigration in the history of the United States.”
He added that the decision could lead to migrants losing their jobs and their families being torn apart, noting that there are currently about one million pending applications to adjust their legal status.
He also noted that this number ballooned after the Trump administration’s decision last year to suspend all pending immigration applications following a shooting that killed a National Guard member in Washington, a policy that remains the subject of legal dispute.
Legal experts expect the immigration department to face new lawsuits over this policy, especially since changes of this magnitude usually require legal procedures that include public notification and making comments available before implementation.
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