The Trump administration has moved to close a long-standing loophole that let temporary visa-holders, visa overstayers, and illegal border-crossers apply for a green card from inside the United States, according to a new USCIS policy memo. The change, set out in memo PM-602-0199 on adjustment of status and discretion, means applicants already in the country can no longer expect routine approval to complete their green card application domestically. Some applicants, including those without legal status, may be required to finish the process abroad — and potentially face a re-entry bar as a result of their unlawful residence.

While much of the criticism has come from advocates for temporary visa workers with pending green card applications, the policy is more likely to affect family applicants: marriage-based applicants and parents of U.S. citizens who are in the country unlawfully, violated the terms of their admission, or misled officials about their purpose for coming.

The scale of adjustment of status

About one million immigrants gain permanent residency each year. Most are sponsored by a family member or employer. Although many apply from abroad and then travel to the U.S. on an immigrant visa, for decades the majority have applied from within the United States and adjusted their status to lawful permanent resident (LPR). Some adjust from lawful temporary status, such as student or visa worker. Others effectively launder their status by applying from inside the country after being sponsored.

The Department of Homeland Security collects but does not publish data on the entry status of those approved to adjust, so no reliable count exists of how many adjust from lawful versus unlawful status. The FY 2023 figures, the most recent available, show the scale of the pipeline: 608,260 adjustments out of 1,172,910 total immigrant admissions, or 52 percent.

Immediate relatives accounted for the largest share of adjustments, at 315,830. Fifty-seven percent of all immediate-relative admissions were adjustments — people already living in the United States. That group represents about half of all adjustments and more than one-fourth of total legal immigration. The category covers spouses of U.S. citizens, their children, and parents of adult U.S. citizens. It faces no numerical cap, no per-country limits, and no long waiting list.

Within that category, 190,650 of the 2023 adjusters were spouses of U.S. citizens (60 percent of immediate-relative adjustments), 19,490 were the spouses' children (6 percent), and 105,690 were parents of adult citizens (33 percent). The number of adjusting parents in 2023 was roughly double the figure from prior years.

Employment-based adjustments tell a different story. Only 146,880 people adjusted across all employment categories in 2023, though that represented 75 percent of all employment LPR admissions. Just 10,940 adjusted in the family preference categories, or 5 percent of admissions there.

Who loses the shortcut

Adjustment of status is generally limited to those who entered lawfully with a visa or were granted parole. Visa Waiver Program entrants cannot adjust. Some temporary visa holders still hold lawful status when they apply, but others fall among the estimated four to five million visa overstayers. Parolees include some of the more than two million visa-less migrants admitted under the Biden administration; the Trump administration has moved to terminate parole and revoke work permits for about 500,000 of them under the CHNV Program covering Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Tens of thousands of DACA holders have also obtained parole over the years.

Applicants who entered unlawfully already must return home for processing. Under Section 212(a)(9)(b), enacted by Congress in 1996, anyone who resided illegally in the U.S. for more than six months faces a three- or 10-year re-entry bar depending on the length of unlawful residence. In 2024, nearly 20,000 applicants applying abroad were barred under this section; more than 18,000, about 90 percent, received a waiver. Waivers require showing extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen — a hardship greater than mere separation or the inconvenience of moving. In practice, many applicants choose not to risk departing and forgo the process altogether.

Until now, overstayers could avoid the three- and 10-year bars entirely by remaining in the country and adjusting status. Under the new policy, overstayers and parolees will apparently be treated the same as illegal border-crossers for green card purposes.

USCIS has indicated it may exercise discretion and allow some applicants to adjust if it serves the national interest, such as applicants with meaningful employment or for humanitarian considerations. The memo itself is the authoritative text of the change, and affected applicants should consult it and official USCIS guidance for how the discretion provisions apply.