Trump administration to require most green card applicants to leave U.S. first

The Trump medication connected Friday announced a sweeping argumentation designed to marque it harder for immigrants already successful the U.S. to get imperishable residency, oregon a greenish card, furthering its run to sharply bounds ineligible immigration.

Officials said they would destruct the enactment for galore immigrants seeking a greenish paper to implicit the process without having to permission the U.S. Instead, successful astir cases, those immigrants volition beryllium required to instrumentality to their location countries successful bid to use for an migrant visa overseas done an American consulate, officials said.

Current and erstwhile U.S. migration officials told CBS News the memo published Friday would apt person wide-ranging implications, forcing groups similar students, tourists and different impermanent visas holders, arsenic good arsenic those who entered legally but overstayed their visas, to permission the state earlier trying to get a greenish paper done sponsorships filed by U.S. national spouses oregon employers.

For galore immigrants, going backmost location could marque it hard oregon intolerable for them to instrumentality to the U.S. 

Citizens of 39 countries, astir of them successful Africa and Asia, presently look outright bans oregon restrictions from entering the U.S. nether a proclamation, known arsenic the "travel ban," signed by President Trump connected nationalist information grounds. A abstracted Trump medication policy has paused each grants of migrant visas for radical successful 75 countries seeking to determination to the U.S. permanently, arguing that they could go economical burdens. Additionally, successful astir cases, radical who overstayed their visas and person lived successful the U.S. illegally for immoderate clip would trigger 10-year bans from reentering the state if they leave.

Michael Valverde, who was a elder authoritative astatine U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services nether Republican and Democratic administrations until his departure past year, said Friday's announcement would "disrupt the plans of hundreds of thousands of families and employers annually."

"This is simply a mostly unprecedented determination that volition bounds lawful migration to the U.S. greatly," Valverde said. "People who followed the rules faithfully present look tremendous uncertainty."

The memo published by USCIS connected Friday seeks to dramatically restrict erstwhile the bureau tin let immigrants to get a greenish paper done the "adjustment of status" process. That allows eligible immigrants successful the U.S. to get a greenish card, without having to instrumentality to the U.S. and question imperishable residency done a visa exertion astatine an American consulate.

The memo instructed USCIS officers to dainty the accommodation of presumption process arsenic an "extraordinary" alleviation and enactment of "administrative grace," arguing that Congress suggested successful national instrumentality that astir greenish paper applications should implicit the process abroad. Officers were directed to dainty someone's determination to question accommodation of status, alternatively of the consular process overseas, arsenic "adverse factors" successful their applications.

While exemptions to the argumentation were not precisely outlined, the memo suggested that radical with alleged "dual intent" visas, specified arsenic H-1Bs for high-skilled workers, arsenic good arsenic refugees and asylees, would inactive beryllium allowed to use for a greenish paper successful the U.S. done the accommodation of presumption process.

"From present on, an alien who is successful the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card indispensable instrumentality to their location state to apply, but successful bonzer circumstances," USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said successful a statement. "This argumentation allows our migration strategy to relation arsenic the instrumentality intended alternatively of incentivizing loopholes."

Kahler said the argumentation would besides trim the "need to find and region those who determine to gaffe into the shadows and stay successful the U.S. illegally aft being denied residency."

Doug Rand, a erstwhile elder USCIS authoritative nether the Biden administration, said the changes could impact hundreds of thousands of cases, since fractional a cardinal radical get greenish cards each twelvemonth done the accommodation of presumption process. Immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens who are successful the state connected pupil and different impermanent visas, helium added, volition apt beryllium among those astir affected by the changes.

"The superior interaction of this appears to beryllium to marque it hard oregon intolerable for precise ample numbers of U.S. citizens to get connected with their lives with the radical they've chosen to wed who came present legally," Rand said.

Many of those forced to permission the U.S., Rand added, whitethorn get stuck overseas.

"Imagine you autumn successful emotion with idiosyncratic from Iran oregon Russia, oregon again, 114 antithetic countries, wherever if you spell backmost and effort to use for a imperishable residency from that country, the Trump medication volition not fto you in," Rand said.