U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Friday that people on temporary visas who want to obtain green cards must return to their home countries to apply. The shift could affect more than 1 million people.

Agency spokesperson Zach Kahler framed the move as a return to congressional intent. "Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose," Kahler said in a statement. "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."

Kahler did not say whether the new policy would affect people with pending green card applications.

"This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing 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."

The Trump administration insists the announcement is not a rule change. Kahler cast it as simply "reiterating" what he called "longstanding immigration law and immigration court decisions." Yet since 1980, a majority of all legal immigrants have received permanent residence while already in the U.S. on temporary visas.

Who is affected

The policy targets nonimmigrants — students, temporary workers and tourists — who currently apply to adjust status to permanent residence from inside the United States. Immigration attorneys on social media expressed concern about how the shift will affect the hundreds of thousands of people who file applications for permanent residency each year while living in the U.S.

David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, estimates that 1.2 million legal immigrants are currently waiting for green card approval. He noted that the announcement comes as USCIS faces lawsuits over its refusal to process any applications from 40 countries.

The announcement leaves unclear how the change might affect people from countries covered by President Donald Trump's travel bans, or from one of the dozens of nations subject to broad visa freezes imposed by the administration.

Per the announcement, thousands of people could be forced to leave their families, employment and homes for weeks or even months, all at their own expense.

Attorneys dispute the "loophole" framing

Applying to adjust immigration status while already in the country is not a "loophole," Eva Golinger, a New York-based immigration attorney, said on X. "It's a legal immigration process stipulated in the regulations," Golinger said. She cited visa types like O-1 and H-1B, which are dual-intent — meaning "the visa holder can be in the U.S. working on a 'nonimmigrant' visa and also apply for permanent residence."

Houston-based human rights attorney Maria Kari called the move "a pretty big and awful change to the law." "It means that if you came here legally on a visa, built a life, maybe had a spouse, kids, job — none of that matters. If you want to apply for a green card, you will have to leave the country," she said on X.

The requirements appear to be a "trap," Kari added, as some people who leave the country may face a 3- or even 10-year bar on reentry.

Litigation expected

Charles Kuck, an Atlanta immigration attorney and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said he anticipates pushback litigation in the coming weeks. "What is ridiculous about this policy is that it was clearly not vetted by USCIS lawyers, was not discussed with the Department of State and is literally violating at least four different provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Administrative Procedures Act," Kuck told Courthouse News.

The announcement is the latest move in Trump's strict immigration crackdown. Approvals for legal permanent residence have already been cut in half over the past year, according to the Cato Institute. The reductions have affected all categories of applications except employment-based applicants. The largest cuts hit humanitarian green card categories, including asylum-seekers, refugees, Cubans and crime victims.

The Cato Institute said the suspension of processing both prevents people from receiving legal permanent residence and in some cases causes them to lose their prior legal status. It called the announcement "a deliberate effort to boost ICE arrests by thwarting people's efforts to stay on the right side of the law."

USCIS published its statement on the agency's official newsroom page. Applicants should monitor USCIS announcements and consult the agency's official guidance for how the change applies to individual cases.