The policy memo, issued shortly before Memorial Day, appeared to mark a major shift in how the federal government handles “adjustment of status,” the process that allows eligible immigrants in the U.S. to apply for lawful permanent residency without leaving the country. The directive suggested that many temporary visa holders and people with humanitarian permission to be in the U.S. would have to return to their home countries and wait there for green card approval, except in “extraordinary” circumstances.

That language alarmed immigrant families, attorneys and employers, because it departed from a practice that has been in place for decades. Days later, however, the administration began to soften its description of the policy. The Department of Homeland Security told The New York Times that the directive was not a blanket rule and that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers have long had discretion in deciding such cases.

Immigration attorneys said the mixed messaging has done little to ease concern.

“That is damage control,” said Patrick Kolasinski, an immigration attorney based in Modesto. He said the administration appeared to be responding both to public criticism and to the likelihood of lawsuits, adding that changing the policy in the manner outlined by the memo would be “completely illegal.”

A DHS spokesperson, speaking anonymously to The New York Times, said people who may face greater scrutiny include those who have overstayed visas and applicants from countries whose citizens are considered more likely to rely on public benefits. DHS did not answer CalMatters’ questions about the apparent shift in how the policy was being described.

Legal experts say the directive fits a broader pattern by the Trump administration of tightening rules even for immigrants attempting to follow legal channels. Employers, including many in the technology industry, have criticized the move, warning it could disrupt business operations and push skilled workers out of the country.

The policy is expected to face legal challenges. In the meantime, attorneys say many applicants are unsure whether they should attend scheduled interviews, whether pending applications are at risk, and whether leaving the country could separate them from their families for years.

The people most likely to be affected include relatives of U.S. citizens, laid-off technology workers, international students and mixed-status families. The issue is especially significant in California, where 112,100 people obtained permanent residency through adjustment of status in 2023 — more than in any other state and nearly one-fifth of all such cases nationwide.

Family-based immigration makes up the largest share of green card cases. DHS data show that about 64% of new permanent residents in 2023 received green cards through a family relationship with a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

A central unanswered question is whether the Trump administration intends to apply the new interpretation to people whose applications are already pending. Lynn Damiano Pearson, director of legal strategy at the National Immigration Law Center, said immigration lawyers have already seen USCIS officers ask applicants why they are seeking permanent residency from inside the United States and whether anything prevents them from applying through a U.S. consulate abroad.

Those questions, she said, appear to come directly from the new memo and suggest the administration may be preparing to apply the policy to existing applicants.

DHS did not answer CalMatters’ question about whether pending cases would be affected. In a written statement, the department said the policy “will have no significant impact on high-skilled applicants and trained professionals who followed the law.” The spokesperson declined to be identified.

Adjustment of status was created by Congress in 1952 and has been used under Democratic and Republican administrations for more than seven decades. More than 500,000 people use the process each year. The Trump administration memo reframes the process as something that should be granted only in exceptional cases.

Jeff Joseph, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, called the memo “wrong,” “reprehensible” and “illegal,” and said he was confident it would end up in court.

Nina Sheridan, a spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta, said the state is watching closely.

“The Trump administration continues its campaign against legal immigration, putting up barriers and pushing out immigrants who are trying to follow the established process to obtain permanent residency,” Sheridan said. “We are monitoring the administration’s next steps with its latest attempt to ignore existing laws and policies, and we are evaluating our options.”

DHS told CalMatters the memo restates long-standing law and policy that it said were ignored by the Biden administration.

Attorneys say one of the greatest fears among applicants is that the policy could turn routine immigration appointments into removal risks. Many people seeking green cards have remained in the U.S. with government authorization while their cases moved through the system, sometimes waiting years because of backlogs. In some cases, their original visas expired while their adjustment applications were pending.

Lawyers worry the administration could use that against applicants, deny them at interviews and then move quickly to initiate deportation proceedings. Immigration attorneys have also pointed to recent cases in which people were detained during routine immigration appointments and held for months.

Damiano Pearson said it is too early to know how often that could happen under the new policy, but attorneys cannot rule out the possibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detaining people after interviews.

For many applicants, leaving the U.S. to complete the process at a consulate is not a simple matter. Consular processing can involve long waits, and State Department backlogs can stretch for months or years.

“This is not a matter of buying a plane ticket and waiting a little longer,” said Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “For many people, consular processing is not realistic or safe, and for others it could mean months or years of separation from their U.S. citizen spouses, children, employers and communities.”

Visa processing has been suspended entirely in more than 70 countries. Immigrants who have overstayed visas could also face three- or 10-year bars from reentering the United States if they leave and try to apply from abroad.

Damiano Pearson said the memo does not make clear whether those consequences will be considered, adding that the uncertainty has caused fear among people who believed they were on a lawful path to permanent residency.

Kolasinski said some of his clients have green card interviews scheduled and are anxious about what could happen when they appear before immigration officers.

“You go in and you have no idea what type of officer you are going to encounter or what rules they believe they are operating under,” he said.

His advice to clients with upcoming interviews is direct: do not go alone.

“At this point, nobody should do anything immigration-related without a lawyer present,” Kolasinski said.

Original source: CalMatters

The post Five Things to Know About the Trump Administration’s New Green Card Policy appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Issued shortly before Memorial Day, the policy memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services appeared to sharply limit a long-used process known as adjustment of status, which allows eligible immigrants already living in the United States to apply for lawful permanent residency without leaving the country. The directive said such approvals should be granted only in “extraordinary” circumstances, raising fears that many applicants could be required to return to their home countries and wait for their cases to be processed through U.S. consulates abroad.

Days later, after widespread concern from immigration lawyers and affected communities, the Department of Homeland Security sought to play down the scope of the change. The department told The New York Times the policy was not a blanket rule and said USCIS officers have always had discretion in deciding adjustment applications.

But attorneys said the memo has already created uncertainty for people who believed they were following the rules.

“That’s a CYA,” said Patrick Kolasinski, a Modesto-based immigration attorney, arguing that the administration appeared to be responding to public backlash and trying to reduce the risk of litigation. He said changing the policy in this manner is “completely illegal.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not answer CalMatters’ questions about whether it had reversed course after the memo’s release. An unnamed department spokesperson told The New York Times that people who overstay visas and applicants from countries whose citizens are considered high users of public assistance could be among those most affected.

The directive could have major implications in California, including Southern California and the Inland Empire, where many families include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, visa holders and immigrants with pending cases. In 2023, 112,100 Californians received green cards through adjustment of status, representing nearly one in five such approvals nationwide, according to federal data.

The groups potentially affected include relatives of U.S. citizens, mixed-status families, international students, laid-off tech workers and other temporary visa holders already living in the country. Family-based applicants make up the largest share of new green card recipients; in 2023, about 64% of green cards went to people qualifying through a family relationship with a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, according to DHS.

A key unanswered question is whether the new approach will be applied to people who already have applications pending. Lynn Damiano Pearson, director of legal strategy at the National Immigration Law Center, said some immigration attorneys have reported that USCIS officers recently asked applicants why they were seeking green cards from inside the United States and whether anything would prevent them from applying from their home countries instead.

“People are being questioned about consular processing in a way that seems to flow directly from this new memo,” Damiano Pearson told CalMatters, adding that advocates fear the administration may try to apply the policy retroactively.

DHS did not directly answer whether pending applications would be affected. In a written statement, the department said the policy “will have no noticeable impact on highly qualified applicants and skilled professionals who have followed the law.” The spokesperson declined to be identified.

Adjustment of status has existed since Congress created it in 1952, and it has been used by Democratic and Republican administrations for more than seven decades. More than 500,000 people use the process each year. The new memo characterizes that pathway as exceptional rather than routine.

Jeff Joseph, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said he expects the policy to be challenged in court.

“This memo is wrong. It’s reprehensible. It’s illegal,” Joseph said. “I’m 100% sure that it’s going to be litigated.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office also indicated it is watching the issue closely.

“The Trump administration continues to wage a campaign against legal immigration, putting up barriers and pushing out immigrants who are trying to follow the established process to obtain permanent residence,” said Nina Sheridan, a spokesperson for Bonta. “We’re monitoring where the administration goes next with its latest attempt to flout longstanding law and policy, and we are evaluating our options.”

DHS told CalMatters the memo “restates longstanding law and policy” that it said had been “disregarded by the Biden Administration.”

Immigration lawyers said one major concern is that some applicants allowed their original visas to expire while waiting for green card interviews, which can take years because of federal backlogs. In many cases, they were permitted to remain in the country while their applications were pending. Attorneys now worry that those same applicants could be denied and placed in removal proceedings.

Advocates also fear some people could be detained during or after routine immigration appointments. Last year, some immigrants were taken into custody at scheduled appointments and held for months. Damiano Pearson said it is too early to know how frequently that could happen under the new policy but said attorneys cannot rule out the possibility.

Forcing applicants to complete the process overseas could create additional hardships. Consular processing is often slow, and in some countries visa processing has been stopped entirely. The State Department has halted visa processing in more than 70 countries.

For people who have overstayed visas, leaving the United States can trigger automatic bars that prevent them from returning for three to 10 years. Attorneys said it remains unclear whether USCIS officers would consider those consequences when deciding whether applicants must leave the country.

“This is not about buying a plane ticket and waiting a little bit longer,” said Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “For many people, consulate processing is not realistic or safe, and for others it can mean months or years of separation from U.S. citizen spouses, children, employers, and communities.”

The uncertainty has left attorneys scrambling to advise clients with upcoming interviews.

Kolasinski said some of his clients are frightened because they do not know how individual officers will interpret the memo.

“You walk in, and you have no idea what kind of officer you’re going to get and what they’re operating under,” he said.

His advice to applicants with scheduled immigration interviews is to bring legal representation.

“Nobody should be doing anything with immigration these days without a lawyer present,” Kolasinski said.

Original source: CalMatters

The post What to Know About the Trump Administration’s New Green Card Policy appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.