Green Card Update: Applicants Face New Questions After Major DHS Change

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The abrupt policy shift outlined how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) views the process known as “Adjustment of Status,” or AOS, as one to only be used in exceptional circumstances, and that a large proportion of applicants who are not seeking a green card based on family ties should return to their home countries for processing, rather than remaining in the U.S.

USCIS’ announcement sparked confusion and concern among immigrants and their attorneys, with details on who exactly would be affected left unclear.

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After USCIS announced the new policy Friday, immigrants applying for green cards faced confusion over whether the new application process, which could force them to return home while waiting for their case to be decided on, applied to them.

USCIS was forced to clarify that H-1B holders would not be required to leave the country when applying for permanent residency, saying those who provided an economic benefit to the U.S. would likely be able to continue on the existing path.

Then, as the week got underway following a long weekend of debate around the policy, green card interviews resumed, with some immigration attorneys reporting that their clients were facing new questions as a result of the shift.

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Angelo Paparelli, partner at Vialto Law in Los Angeles, said he had heard attorneys reporting applicants were being asked:

• What was your intent when you came to the U.S. with your visa?
• Why didn’t you just consular process instead of filing AOS?
• What factors prevented you from consular processing?

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) told The Associated Press that applicants who had interviews Tuesday had faced new questions, including an immigrant married to a U.S. citizen asked why they had not returned home to apply for their green card there, despite the change not affecting that category.

The confusion unleashed by the memo, sent to USCIS officers for immediate implementation, has appeared to unravel a norm set over several decades that immigrants in the U.S. as students or temporary workers, as well as those married to American citizens, could apply and wait for their green card in the U.S., so that they would not face disruption.

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Officials said in the memo that even if applicants technically meet the requirements for permanent residency when they are about to apply in the U.S., as their visa comes to an end, they will still need to return home and wait for the U.S. State Department to process their case.

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While USCIS said that those who could offer economic benefit to the U.S. could remain in the country, the discretionary nature of the policy has left uncertainty levels high for employers and employees.

Student visa holders and others with more temporary statuses, such as religious workers, also now face the possibility of being forced to return home, potentially disrupting life at colleges and religious institutions.

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