Donald Trump Administration Tightens Green Card Rules For Migrants

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:02]If you were planning to settle in the United States, you might have to rethink your plans because a new US immigration rule has put your plans in geoparity.

[00:00:11]The Trump administration has announced a major change in the green card application process. According to USCIS, migrants seeking green cards will have to leave America and apply from their home countries instead of staying in the United States during the process. What's worse is terminology used in the announcements. The USCIS has referred to migrants as aliens and accused them of abusing the US immigration system. Most people in the United States who apply for a green card, they do so from within the United States, not from a consulate abroad. And that's been a core part of the US immigration system for over 70 years. So, for example, the year we have the latest data from, 2004, over 780,000 people applied from within the United States for a green card. It's completely normal. Here's what really changes in the green card application process.

[00:01:06]The US earlier had two application routes for permanent residency. either leave the country and apply from your home country consulate which is called counselor processing or apply from within the United States which is called adjustment of status. Now in the changed policy US has restricted the application to just counselor processing. An adjustment of status will be given in only extraordinary circumstances and being a H1B visa holder is not reason enough for that. This decision has caused an uproar among immigrants living in America, especially Indians. Here's why. Indians are the second largest group in the United States who become citizens through the green card process just after Mexico. Indians also make up 6.1% of the naturalizations. In 2024 itself, 49,700 Indian-born immigrants became US citizens. The new policy has also drawn strong criticism among Congress members who are calling it a push towards Trump's white nationalist agenda. However, with not much clarity about the changes, the policy currently stands on film grounds.

[00:02:16]>> I think this policy is on such flimsy legal footing that we can certainly expect challenges in the courts and I don't know whether this policy will be blocked on day one or day 100, but uh it's not on very firm footing. This move significantly impacts international students, H-1B workers, and tourists currently residing in the United States who had hoped to transition to permanent residency without leaving the country.