The Green Card, officially known as the Permanent Resident Card, receives more than 30 million applications annually, with most submissions falling under the family-sponsored or Diversity Visa programs. According to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics’ 2024 Legal Immigration and Adjustment of Status Report, only 1.36 million of all Green Card applications are approved each year, making it one of the most sought-after and selective statuses a non-citizen immigrant can obtain in the US. Unlike non-immigrant visas, which allow only temporary, purposeful travel, the Green Card allows foreigners to achieve lawful permanent residence and work authorization in the US.
For decades, immigrants with temporary visas could apply for a Green Card while in the US through a process known as “Adjustment of Status.” This longstanding policy remained unchanged until recently.
On May 21, 2026, the Trump administration issued a new policy requiring immigrants, including those in their Adjustment of Status periods, to apply for a Green Card in their home countries. As a result, the hundreds of thousands of applicants currently residing in the US may be at risk.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated that the purpose of this change is to “return to the original intent of the law” and to ensure immigrants leave the country when their visit is over. Exceptions to this new policy will be granted only under “extraordinary circumstances,” though the guidelines for what constitutes an extraordinary circumstance still remain unclear. This has left many non-citizen immigrants anxious about how these changes will affect them.
Here is what we may expect.
Family Separation
According to USCIS, the typical timeline for obtaining a Green Card ranges from 7 to 33 months, though this metric has been repeatedly criticized for its inaccuracy. The actual timeframe is typically much longer and varies widely depending on factors such as office location, the type of immigration form, and the filing basis.
Many immigrants are worried that if they leave the country, they may be separated from their families for years. With slow processing times and new immigrant visas prohibited from 75 countries under the Trump administration’s travel ban, there may be no guarantee of re-entry at all.
Per Ana Pottratz Acosta, a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, “the group of people that appear to be most impacted would be individuals who are what are called immediate relatives,” which include spouses, children, and parents of US citizens who entered legally but later overstayed their visa.
President and CEO of World Relief, Myal Greene, also called the policy “anti-family” and claimed that it will “force apart husbands from wives and children from their parents.”
During the last quarter of 2025, 73% of all approved Adjustment of Status cases were eligible through family sponsorship, in which applicants either married a US citizen or received sponsorship from a family member with US citizenship. Individuals who lived with their US-citizen family members while their applications were being processed will now be forced to separate from them, without knowing when they can return.
Work and Education Interruptions
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the policy changes would have no “noticeable impact on highly qualified applicants and skilled professionals.” Additionally, those who “benefit the national interest and provide economic benefits to the United States […] will continue to merit the favorable exercise of discretion.”
Despite these promises, some employers remain concerned that the changes will prevent them from hiring skilled workers and disrupt their employees’ lives, since many workers apply for a Green Card after receiving an H-1B work visa.
Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng expressed that the new policy will “leave us with fewer doctors, teachers, and scientists.”
Similarly, Johns Hopkins economics professor Michael Clemens asserted: “For high-skill Indian workers seeking EB-2/3 visas, a major source of STEM talent and innovation in the US workforce, that will usually mean years of waiting overseas for consular processing.” Clemens warns that this will result in the “US losing their talents permanently.”
International students are also being targeted. Although students are expected to return to their home countries shortly after completing their education, many end up permanently settling in the US. As a consequence of overstaying, they may face multi-year bans and other penalties.
Immigration Status Uncertainty
Although USCIS has issued multiple statements addressing concerns about its policy memo, there is still widespread confusion among applicants, immigration attorneys, and aid groups about whom these changes specifically apply. With unclear impacts and unspecified exceptions, many immigrants are left uncertain about their future in the country.
Even if the changes do not apply to most applicants, many immigration lawyers are calling the move a “scare tactic,” discouraging immigrants from applying for permanent residency and further limiting legal pathways to immigration. For the more than one million legal immigrants with an Adjustment of Status awaiting Green Card approval, their statuses remain uncertain.