The United States government has introduced a new immigration policy requiring most foreign nationals seeking permanent residency to complete their green card applications from their home countries.
The policy, announced on Friday by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), represents another tightening of immigration rules under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The new directive is expected to affect temporary visa holders already residing in the US, including students, tourists, and foreign workers.
Under the policy, individuals living in the US on temporary visas will generally no longer be allowed to adjust their status to permanent residency while remaining in the country, except in what officials described as “extraordinary circumstances”.
Applicants will instead be required to process their residency applications through US embassies or consulates in their countries of origin.
Explaining the decision, USCIS said the policy is aimed at restoring what it called the original intent of US immigration laws.
“We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly,” the agency stated.
“From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.”
According to the agency, the move is intended to discourage abuse of the immigration system and reduce the number of people who remain in the US illegally after unsuccessful residency applications.
Zach Kahler, spokesperson for USCIS, said the previous arrangement encouraged loopholes that complicated immigration enforcement.
“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes,” he 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.”
USCIS also stressed that temporary visas were never designed to become indirect pathways to permanent residency or citizenship.
“Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose,” the agency said.
“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.”
Officials further argued that shifting applications to overseas consular offices would allow immigration authorities to focus more resources on other services, including naturalisation applications and support for victims of trafficking and violent crimes.
“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,” USCIS added.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also reinforced the new policy in a social media post on Friday, signalling a stricter immigration stance by the administration.
“An alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply,” DHS stated.
“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes. The era of abusing our nation’s immigration system is over.”
The directive is expected to significantly affect Nigerians and other foreign nationals who enter the US on temporary visas and later seek permanent residency. Nigerians remain among the highest recipients of US non-immigrant visas in Africa.
The development also follows an earlier move by the Trump administration in late 2025 to suspend the processing of some green card and citizenship applications involving nationals from countries affected by US travel restrictions.
According to the Seattle Times, about 3.6 million people were living in the US on temporary visas as of 2024, excluding tourists.