New Green Card Rule Could Affect 161,000 Migrants in Illinois

A new policy from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) could complicate the path to permanent residency for an estimated 161,000 temporary immigrants in Illinois.

The policy, outlined in a May memo, frames the adjustment of status within the U.S. as a discretionary and extraordinary benefit. It emphasizes consular processing outside the United States as the primary route for most applicants. This shift could significantly impact temporary residents, including students and temporary workers, who were previously able to apply for green cards while remaining in the country.

USCIS states that this change aims to revert to the "original purpose of the law," suggesting that non-immigrants entering the U.S. for limited purposes should not use their stay as a primary step toward permanent residency. The agency also indicated that prioritizing consular processing could free up USCIS resources for other priorities, such as cases involving victims of crime and human trafficking, and naturalization applications. The memo does not provide an exhaustive list of "extraordinary circumstances" that might allow for in-country adjustment of status, leaving such decisions to individual officer evaluations.

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a foreign national who is temporarily in the U.S. must return to their country of origin to apply for it, except in extraordinary circumstances