The Trump administration now requires most green card applicants to return to their home countries for consular processing, ending a decades-old practice that allowed applications within the U.S. The policy, effective immediately, affects roughly 820,000 people annually who previously used 'adjustment of status' to obtain permanent residency without leaving the country. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services claims the change closes loopholes that incentivize illegal immigration.

Immigration lawyers warn the shift will separate families, as spouses and relatives wait months or years abroad for decisions. The adjustment of status process had become over two decades, with more than 500,000 approvals each year until pandemic disruptions. Consular systems worldwide are already overwhelmed, raising concerns about further delays. Sarah Pierce, a former policy analyst, called the system 'overburdened' and predicted prolonged family separations.

The policy drew immediate confusion among attorneys scrambling to interpret exceptions. Legal challenges are expected, though the administration frames it as restoring statutory intent. For now, the change places new pressure on consulates while reshaping pathways for hundreds of thousands seeking U.S. permanent residency.