Foreigners roaming the United States and wanting a green card must return to their home country to apply, closing a major loophole that contributed to the growth of the illegal immigrant population in the country, according to a new federal rule.
The move shows that the United States is “returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesman Zach Kahler said in a statement Friday. Before the new rule came into play, immigrants who were in the United States for temporary work, tourism, or school could stay in the country while applying for a green card.
As a result, the illegal immigrant population grew since many stayed in the country after being denied permanent residency. Their failure to depart forced federal authorities to hunt them down for deportation, according to USCIS.
“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes,” Kahler said. “When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the U.S. illegally after being denied residency.”
When immigrants come to the United States under temporary terms, they shouldn’t use the visit as “the first step” in getting a green card, Kahler said.
“Following the law allows the majority of these cases to be handled by the State Department at U.S. consular offices abroad and frees up limited USCIS resources to focus on processing other cases that fall under its purview, including visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, naturalization applications, and other priorities,” Kahler said.
“The law was written this way for a reason, and despite the fact that it has been ignored for years, following it will help make our system fairer and more efficient,” he said.
Some immigrants will be exempt if there are “extraordinary circumstances” in their case, according to USCIS.
Around 500,000 immigrants overstayed their visa permissions as of September 2024, according to Homeland Security data.
The latest action comes as the Trump administration looks to crack down on abuse of legal immigration programs. As part of the effort, USCIS is auditing naturalization cases, which has resulted in several foreign-born nationals accused of committing fraud or who are tied to terrorism losing their citizenship.
The Trump administration has already denaturalized 15 individuals as of April and has filed a total of 35 denaturalization complaints.
