Waiting for Green Card? Return to your country first: Trump admin ends ‘loophole’

The administration of US President Donald Trump has unveiled a major shift in immigration policy that could force many migrants seeking permanent residency to leave the United States and apply for Green Cards from their home countries instead of remaining on American soil during the process. 

The move is being framed by the administration as an effort to close what it calls a “loophole” in the immigration system that allegedly allowed temporary migrants to stay in the country while awaiting lawful permanent residency. 

The policy shift was amplified by the United States Department of Homeland Security in a post on X (formerly Twitter) where the department declared: “An alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply. This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes. The era of abusing our nation’s immigration system is over.” 

What the new guidance says 

Under the updated interpretation of Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, USCIS officers are now being directed to treat the transition from temporary nonimmigrant status to immigrant status as a process that should generally happen outside the United States. 

In practice, this means that migrants who are in the US on temporary visas and later become eligible for permanent residency would typically need to: 

• Return to their country of origin 
• Undergo screening and processing procedures abroad 
• Obtain an immigrant visa through the US Department of State 
• Reenter the United States as lawful permanent residents 

The administration argues that overseas processing aligns more closely with the original intent of immigration law and prevents misuse of temporary visa pathways. 

Domestic adjustment only in “extraordinary circumstances” 

The guidance leaves room for exceptions but significantly narrows them. 

According to the document, applicants would only be permitted to remain in the United States and complete adjustment of status domestically in “extraordinary circumstances.” In such cases, USCIS officers would conduct vetting internally instead of relying on the traditional immigrant visa screening process carried out abroad by consular officials. 

Immigration officers have also been instructed to evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis, weighing all relevant factors before granting such administrative relief. 

The revised interpretation marks a sharper and more restrictive reading of Section 245(a), which historically allowed certain individuals who had been “inspected and admitted or paroled” into the United States to apply for adjustment of status without leaving the country, provided an immigrant visa was immediately available and they met admissibility requirements. 

The latest guidance is consistent with the Trump administration’s broader hardline immigration agenda, which has focused on tightening asylum rules, increasing deportations, restricting humanitarian parole programs and limiting what officials describe as abuse of immigration pathways.