BY VEENA RAO
Washington DC, May 30, 2026 — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved on May 29 to reassure immigrants and employers after a controversial policy memo issued last week sparked fears that hundreds of thousands of green card applicants would be forced to leave the United States and complete their applications abroad.
The clarification comes just one week after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum stating that adjustment of status — the process that allows eligible immigrants already in the United States to apply for permanent residency without leaving the country — would be granted only in “extraordinary circumstances.” The memo described adjustment of status as a discretionary benefit rather than an entitlement and emphasized that consular processing abroad should be the default pathway to a green card.
The May 22 guidance triggered widespread concern among immigrants, immigration attorneys, employers, and universities, particularly because it appeared to overturn more than six decades of established practice. Critics warned that the policy could force workers, students, and family-based applicants to leave the country and face lengthy visa processing delays overseas.
However, in its May 29 clarification, DHS said the memo should not be interpreted as a blanket requirement that all green card applicants leave the United States. According to the agency, USCIS officers continue to retain case-by-case discretion when adjudicating adjustment-of-status applications, and the memorandum merely reiterates that adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit under existing law.
The clarification is likely to come as a relief to many Indian professionals working in the United States on H-1B visas, who make up a significant share of employment-based green card applicants.
Legal analysts noted that the memo acknowledges so-called “dual-intent” visa categories, including H-1B and L-1 visas, which allow individuals to work temporarily in the United States while also pursuing permanent residency. As a result, many workers in those categories are expected to continue filing adjustment-of-status applications from within the country.
Importantly, USCIS has not suspended Form I-485, the application used to adjust status to permanent resident, nor has Congress changed the underlying law governing green card eligibility. Applicants who qualify under existing statutes remain eligible to apply.
The original memo, issued May 22, argued that Congress intended most immigrants admitted on temporary visas to leave the country once their authorized stay ended and seek immigrant visas through U.S. consulates abroad. It characterized adjustment of status as an “extraordinary form of relief” that allows applicants to bypass the normal consular process.
The policy drew sharp criticism from immigration advocates and business groups, who warned that forcing applicants abroad could worsen existing visa backlogs, disrupt families, and create uncertainty for employers that rely on skilled foreign workers. Attorneys also questioned whether the guidance could be applied broadly enough to affect even applicants with approved employment-based petitions.
Despite the DHS clarification, immigration attorneys say questions remain about how individual USCIS officers will exercise their discretion under the new guidance and whether adjustment-of-status approvals could become more difficult in practice.
For now, however, DHS has signaled that most immigrants already eligible to apply for a green card from within the United States should not assume they will be required to depart the country to complete the process.
