USCIS Will Grant Adjustment of Status Only in “Extraordinary Circumstances” | #adjustmentofstatus

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Breaking news. USS has announced that from now on, an alien or foreigner who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card for permanent residency must return to their home country to apply for it except in extraordinary circumstances.

[00:00:14]USCIS went on to say that non-immigrants like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas come to the US for a short time and for a specific purpose and our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over.

[00:00:27]The visit should not function as the first step in the green card process.

[00:00:32]USIS further noted that requiring aliens to apply for adjustment of status from their home country reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the US illegally after being denied residency.

[00:00:48]My take on this, the Trump administration is merely trying to mitigate the disastrous effects of Democrat open border policies that deliberately facilitated massive abuse of our immigration system and flooded the United States with millions of illegal aliens. But what about dual intent visas like the L1 or H1B where it's okay if you intend to apply for a green card later? Are those affected by this new policy? Well, in its memo, USCIS clearly states that maintaining lawful status in a dual intent category is not sufficient on its own to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion.

[00:01:24]That's a big change in my view. Of course, it remains to be seen how this new extraordinary circumstances rule will be interpreted and administered in different types of adjustment of status cases, and there will be litigation about it for sure. But in light of how many millions of illegal aliens we have living in the shadows already, I think it's a wise move. I'm Joseph Lavino, America First Immigration and Business attorney based in Florida and serving clients worldwide. Let me know what you think in the comments below and follow for