‘The rug pulled out from everyone’: the chaos of Trump’s new green card rules | US immigration

A new policy memo issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) last week requiring most aliens in the United States to leave the country and obtain green cards through their home countries has sparked confusion and fear among hundreds of thousands of visa holders and families, as well as immigration advocates and lawyers.

Scores of Guardian readers, speaking anonymously out of fear, said the note threatened to upend the lives they had spent years building in the US, from careers to homes, marriages to plans for long-term stability.

Aliens seeking permanent residence in the United States can typically apply for a green card through a U.S. consulate abroad or from within the country through a process known as adjustment of status (AOS). But under the new USCIS notice, many applicants who already live in the United States, including those with mixed-status families, jobs and homes, may now have to leave the country while their cases are pending.

Following widespread confusion around the memo, a USCIS spokesperson clarified The agency, which notified Semaphore of the policy last week, “merely restates and reasserts” its interpretation of congressional intent on immigration status changes. The spokesman added: “While we work to operationalize this, those who submit applications that provide economic benefit or are otherwise in the national interest will likely be able to continue on their current route, while others may be asked to apply abroad depending on individual circumstances.”

Despite the clarity, Donald Trump’s recent immigration push, from targeting illegal immigration to targeting legal immigration routes, has deepened uncertainty for many foreigners in the United States.

For a 34-year-old Indian software engineer living in Washington who holds an H-1B visa (a dual-purpose temporary work visa that allows foreigners to work while gaining lawful permanent residence in the country), the policy adds another layer of uncertainty to an already difficult immigration process.

“While it is unclear whether H-1B visa holders will have to return for AOS, I am tired of the delays in green card processing for people from India and have invested a significant portion of my savings into the EB-5 investor program in hopes of getting a green card faster and finding stability for my family,” he said, referring to a program that allows foreigners to get green cards by investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a U.S. entity that will create at least 10 full-time jobs for Americans. workers.

“Looks like we’ll have to turn back now [to] to apply [through consular processing]That was the advantage of EB-5; If I were in the US I could apply at the same time. “This could mean losing our job, selling our home, and maybe not having enough money to restart lives here now that we have children,” he added.

Others fear that this policy could destabilize futures that they believe are safe.

The 30-year-old Portland, Oregon resident, who met her Mexican husband while attending college in Vancouver, British Columbia, said her husband had already received a green card through the adjustment of status process in February. But because they have been married for less than two years, their residency is conditional and valid for only two years before applying for a 10-year green card or U.S. citizenship.

“It will take two years for him to renew his green card, but it will be three years before he can apply for citizenship. Now he’s anxious to leave the country and travel or visit family in Mexico. I’m trying to allay his fears, but I feel like if that changes and the rug is pulled from anyone who is pursuing immigration in a proper and legal way, then what say do we really have about our current position?” he said.

“In his own words, he is a ‘worry dog’ who barks at every sound. This sudden change did not ease his anxieties and created anxiety in me that I had never expected. Throughout this whole process, I told him that he was not worried about anything, that if we followed the rules and did things right, nothing would go wrong and we could be together. I feel like I misled us.”

For a 26-year-old Hong Kong architectural designer currently living in New York on an H-1B visa, the note disrupted his long-term plans with his fiancee.

“I just got engaged to my fiancée in Hong Kong and was planning to get a green card to get married in the US and start our lives in the US. We were planning to get an apartment together and maybe start a business. Now that the green card rules have changed, we are doubtful about starting our lives in New York,” she said.

“The concern is how much the US could change its long-standing procedures and rules on a simple note. I came to the US for its strong rule of law and predictable and stable regulatory environment where policies do not change overnight with almost no public/congressional debate. My shorter-term concern is whether I will have to leave my fiancée in the near future,” he added.

The declaration also precipitates deeply personal decisions, forcing some immigrants to weigh marriage, career and long-term stability with the uncertainty of remaining in the United States.

For a graduate student in Seattle, Washington, who is currently researching political misinformation while working on an F-1 student visa, these changes feel especially personal.

“These new green card rules have been personally debilitating for me. I’m currently dating a US citizen and we’re still in the early stages of building a relationship together, but this new USCIS memo is catalyzing conversations that I naturally wish would happen,” she explained.

“For example, I could stay on my F-1 visa and find a job after graduation, allowing the relationship to run its course. Or I could prioritize staying with my partner and decide to get married, so I feel more secure in being able to stay in the US longer. But I think I’m being forced to choose my mental stability over my relationship and staying in the US,” she added.

The student continued: “My partner has fewer options for leaving the country, and I have built a life and research network here that I do not want to leave. But this new memo appears to be the first step among many that will effectively make legal immigration more difficult. It has been mentally and emotionally draining to follow these ongoing changes and think about my visa situation becoming more and more precarious.”