DHS Makes U-Turn on Green Card Rules, Says Immigrants Won’t Have to Leave America

In a 360-degree turn from the previously released policy memo, the US Department of Homeland Security has further clarified that most immigrants applying for a green card may not need to leave the United States.

Just days after triggering anxiety among thousands of legal immigrants, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a major clarification on its controversial Green Card policy, stating that most applicants will not be required to leave the United States while their permanent residency applications are being processed.

The clarification comes after a recent U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy memo sparked widespread concern among immigrants, employers, immigration attorneys, and advocacy groups. The memo appeared to suggest that adjustment of status would be restricted and granted only under “extraordinary circumstances.”

Here, our EB-1A consultants have discussed this latest update in detail and what it means for applicants.

The new announcement by the DHS and what it means

The policy memo created immediate uncertainty, particularly among highly skilled foreign workers on H-1B visas, and family-based applicants who had expected to complete their Green Card process without leaving the country. Many feared they would be forced to return to their home countries and undergo consular processing abroad.

However, DHS has now sought to calm those fears.

According to the latest clarification, most immigrants seeking permanent residency will still be able to remain in the United States while their applications are adjudicated. The agency stated that the earlier guidance had been misunderstood and emphasized that the vast majority of Green Card applicants would not be required to depart the country during the process.

The reversal has been widely viewed as a response to the backlash that followed the original memo. Immigration lawyers and policy experts had warned that forcing applicants to leave the country would disrupt families, and place additional pressure on already overburdened U.S. consulates abroad. The strongest criticism came from immigration policy analysts. Writing for the Cato Institute, immigration expert David J. Bier described the original policy shift as a dramatic departure from decades of U.S. immigration practice. He wrote that under the interpretation outlined in the USCIS memo, “every legal immigrant must leave the country” before obtaining permanent residence. Likewise, he called the move harmful to both immigrants and American employers.

Bier also argued that adjustment of status has never been an exceptional benefit. In fact, he noted that a majority of legal immigrants since 1980 have obtained permanent residency through this very process.

The issue is particularly significant for Indian nationals, who represent one of the largest groups caught in America's employment-based Green Card backlog. Many highly skilled Indian professionals spend years, and sometimes decades, on temporary visas while waiting for permanent residency. Any requirement to leave the United States during the process could potentially disrupt careers and family stability.

What is the context of such a U-turn by the DHS?

According to a report by The New York Times, the DHS has emphasised that the policy memo was not a new rule but a restatement of the law. Officers have always reviewed each case on a case-by-case basis and in their own discretion, taking into account factors such as the immigrant’s past history, professional role in the U.S., etc. This has always been the practice, and what the USCIS policy memo suggested is none other than an upholding of the letter of the law, and in turn, an implicit suggestion that in some cases, the applicant may have to take the route of consular processing from their home country.

At GCEB1, we are staying updated on all the twists and turns in the U.S. immigration landscape. You can directly get in touch with our EB1A consultancy and consult our allied attorney network for status-change-related queries. We wish you a safe and stress-free immigration journey ahead.

Sources & Further Readings

1. Aleaziz, Hamed, Madeleine Ngo, and Lydia DePillis.“Actually, Most Immigrants Won’t Need to Leave U.S. to Get Green Cards, D.H.S. Says." The New York Times, May 29, 2026.
2. Pandey, Nikhil, ed.“ “US' U-Turn On Green Card Rules, Most Immigrants Won't Have To Leave America.”" NDTV, May 30, 2026.