The long-standing process that allows eligible immigrants already inside the United States to apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the country has recently changed. The May 2026 USCIS adjustment-of-status policy shift could force hundreds of thousands of applicants to complete green card processing abroad instead of from inside the U.S.
Under the recent May 21, 2026, USCIS policy memo, adjustment of status is framed as an “extraordinary” discretionary benefit rather than a routine alternative to consular processing. USCIS officers are directed to consider whether the worker should instead complete the immigrant visa process at a U.S. consulate abroad.
This adjustment shift in processing appears like a small procedural change, but immigrant advocates say the impact may be alarming and have significant life-changing consequences. According to the Migration Policy Institute, half of all green cards go to people here in the U.S. who applied for a green card through ‘adjustment of status.’ This means at least half of all green card applicants will need to deal with this policy shift.
Real life consequences
For example, if a new legal immigrant—a spouse or family member—is in the U.S. waiting for the processing of a green card, that family member could potentially be forced to leave and return to the country of origin, then file for a green card, wait there until that green card is approved. Meanwhile, families are unnecessarily separated and could be kept apart for months to years, experts say. Consular processing already faces delays and backlog. Furthermore, there’s no clear guarantee that the legal immigrant could return.
Or in the case of a legal foreign worker on an H-1B visa. Under the usual process, they file for what’s called “adjustment of status” so they can become a lawful permanent resident without leaving the U.S. But now, it’s conceivable the worker may need to pursue consular processing outside the U.S., meaning they could be forced to leave the U.S., attend an immigrant visa interview overseas, and wait for visa issuance before returning as a permanent resident. Meanwhile, that worker most likely would have to quit his job and have his career suspended. The financial cost could be drastic.
Filipino community
This new change is a major development which could harm our Filipino community. According to Philippine Ambassador Joe Manuel “Babe” Romualdez as reported in May 2026, about 100,000 to 200,000 Filipinos could be impacted.
Politically driven by Trump administration
Why the change? Daniel Kanstroom, a professor at Boston College Law School and founder of the university’s Immigration and Asylum Clinic, said that the main purpose of this memo is likely to reduce the number of green cards that are approved.
“This Administration is trying to make it as difficult as possible for as many people as possible to attain permanent resident status,” he said.
“We’re focusing now on the group of people who potentially have the strongest reasons to stay in this country legitimately,” he said, referring to the spouses and family members of U.S. citizens or legal residents.
In other words, this policy shift is politically driven by the Trump administration as just one part of his anti-immigration agenda.
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian think-tank Cato Institute, called the move an expansion of the Trump Administration’s “quiet quitting” on legal immigration, pointing to how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has slashed green card approvals in half over the last year, according to USCIS data.
Furthermore, immigrant advocates say the memo is also unclear how the agency will determine who can apply for a green card while in the country and who can apply while outside the country.
According to the USCIS, the justification for the change is to reduce 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, said Zach Kahler, a spokesman for USCIS.
Unfair and cruel
The USCIS memo change is unfair and frankly disrespectful for families who relied on existing rules and have already gone through the legal channels toward permanent legal residency. If the goal is lawful immigration, then punishing people who are already trying to complete the legal process from inside the United States is not reform but cruelty.
USCIS should clarify who is affected, protect pending applicants, preserve adjustment of status for family-based and employment-based cases that Congress has long permitted, and avoid forcing people abroad unless there is a specific legal reason to do so.
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