DHS Backs Off Its Demand for Green-Card Applicants To Leave US

Washington: The Department of Homeland Security says highly skilled and skilled green card applicants will not see a noticeable impact from the controversial policy announced last week that most people seeking permanent legal residence will have to apply from outside the United States.

The statement, aimed at reassuring employers and immigrants that the process will not be restrictive, came in a statement Saturday that said the guidance issued last week by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services merely reiterated longstanding law and policy.

A USCIS spokesperson said at the time that immigrants who are temporarily in the United States and want a green card “must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.” That would change the decades-old practice of allowing immigrants sponsored by relatives or employers to stay in the U.S. while waiting for a green card.

DHS’s latest statement suggested that the requirement to apply from outside the US would not affect those who could serve US national interests or provide economic benefit, and that the policy would not prevent any qualified person from receiving a green card.

Immigration attorneys said they received a number of concerned calls from clients who were concerned that the Trump administration was trying to restrict legal immigration after USCIS’ initial announcement.

Elizabeth Goss, an immigration attorney in Boston, said of the earlier policy that the new rule is “another way of trying to deport people who I believe cannot be deported.” “It’s just another way to force people out.”

At the same time, DHS said some applicants will need to start the process at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside the United States. This will not affect current permanent legal residents, DHS added. The statement was previously reported by the New York Times and CBS News.