The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has introduced a significant policy shift requiring foreign nationals seeking to adjust their immigration status for green cards to complete the process from their home countries. According to a formal memo issued by the agency, officials will evaluate requests for extraordinary relief on a case-by-case basis, but the default expectation is that those residing in the U.S. temporarily must return home to apply. The Department of Homeland Security maintains that this adjustment is designed to uphold the original intent of immigration laws and reduce reliance on legal loopholes, while also helping the agency streamline its internal resources.

However, this directive has sparked intense backlash from humanitarian organizations. Groups like HIAS argue that the policy is deeply harmful, as it forces vulnerable populations—including survivors of human trafficking and neglected children—to return to the very nations they originally fled for safety. This update represents another milestone in the broader effort to restrict U.S. immigration, following previous administration actions such as limiting visa durations for students and journalists, as well as the widespread revocation of thousands of existing visas.