Trump green card changes: What you need to know

What does the policy say?

The directive requires people in the United States who are applying to become lawful permanent residents to leave the country and apply through the consular process rather than “adjustment of status.” An applicant would have to travel to their country of origin to apply at the U.S. consulate there, which, Simon noted, could pose issues for people from countries without a U.S. consulate.

“Basically they’re turning what was and is in the statute a discretionary ability to adjust into something much more narrow and into what they are now deeming it needs to be extraordinary circumstances,” Simon said. “So it will be the exception rather than the rule.”

Since 1980, a majority of legal immigrants have applied for and received lawful permanent residency while residing in the United States through the adjustment of status process.

That precedent “really is about minimizing disruption, so that the sponsored family member or employee would not have to leave the U.S. for an unforeseen amount of time,” Simon said.

“This could take months … if not years,” she said. “If the person has to leave, it’s pretty drastic.”

Are legal challenges expected?

“Absolutely,” Simon said.

“[The memo] is really turning 70-plus years of the rules and the case law upside down,” she said. “And it’s frankly creating a new policy, new law that does not exist, that has no legal basis.”

Litigation has already been filed challenging other immigration-related directives from the Trump administration, including the directive that raised the H-1B petition fee to $100,000.

Who is impacted now?

In 2024 alone, more than 16,800 people applied for a green card in Philadelphia through the adjustment of status process, according to USCIS data.

Nationwide, more than half a million people applied for a green card in that same time frame.

That number of people now being forced to apply abroad would “flood the consulates,” Simon said, and add to a preexisting backlog.

It would lead to families being separated, and workplaces losing valuable employees, she said.

“The impact again, if this actually is implemented, and … depending on how it is implemented, could be absolutely devastating,” Simon said. “The impact is far beyond those immigrants, it’s going to impact lots of U.S. citizens, lots of employers, everywhere.”