The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday announced it will begin enforcing a “long-standing” law requiring green card applicants to remain in their home country until approval, except under “extraordinary circumstances.”
Until now, the rule has not been consistently enforced, allowing many applicants to remain in the United States while their green card applications are pending.
An alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply.
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 22, 2026
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. https://t.co/ofyEYGPDLC
“We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly. From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances," USCIS Spokesman Zach Kahler said in a statement. "This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes. When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the U.S. illegally after being denied residency."
Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process. Following the law allows the majority of these cases to be handled by the State Department at U.S. consular offices abroad and frees up limited USCIS resources to focus on processing other cases that fall under its purview, including visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, naturalization applications, and other priorities. The law was written this way for a reason, and despite the fact that it has been ignored for years, following it will help make our system fairer and more efficient.
USCIS is applying long-standing law and prior court decisions to require certain aliens with temporary visas who decide they want to permanently reside in the U.S. to return to their home countries to apply for permanent visas through the @StateDept.
— USCIS (@USCIS) May 22, 2026
We're returning to the… pic.twitter.com/E2AFZkds5m
From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card for permanent residency must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.
— USCIS (@USCIS) May 22, 2026
This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of…
The lack of enforcement surrounding this law has long been described as a loophole, allowing non-citizens to remain in the United States while waiting for approval. Those on temporary visas, such as H-1B workers, international students, or tourists, could effectively transition from a temporary visa to the permanent residency process without ever leaving the country. Many described the practice as a backdoor into the immigration system.
This comes amid the Trump administration’s broader push not only to end illegal immigration, but also to ensure that legal pathways to citizenship are more tightly controlled and enforced.
