In a relief to H-1B visa holders, the Trump administration issued a clarification on the new Green Card policy and said that the applications in “national interest will likely be able to continue on their current path.”
The statement came days after the US tightened rules to apply for in the country. The new directive called for requiring most people seeking green cards to apply for permanent residency from outside the US, or hom country.
The announced on Friday, May 22: “From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply [for ‘Adjustment of Status’], except in extraordinary circumstances.”
This sparked fear of delayed process and legal challenges among many H-1B visa holders. “You can’t, through a stroke of a pen, overturn a statute,” attorney Todd Pomerleau told ABC News. “It’s illegal, and it’s going to get shut down in court,” he added.
Critics also argued that the new directive could disrupt scientists and AI startups if were affected. “Harmful move for tech, business, and America broadly,” LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman wrote.
The clarification
Clarifying this, a spokesperson for told Semafor that H1-B visa holders and high-skilled workers might not be affected in the near term.
The agency is “is merely restating and reasserting” its reading of congressional intent regarding immigration status changes, the USCIS spokesperson said.
“While we work to operationalize this, people who present applications that provide an economic benefit or otherwise are in the national interest will likely be able to continue on their current path while others may be asked to apply abroad depending on individualized circumstances,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The department had earlier warned, “Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the US for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process.”
