Want To Apply For Green Card? New US Immigration Rules Say Return To Home Country First

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has rolled out a significant policy revision, mandating that temporary visa holders seeking a Green Card must now generally exit the U.S. and complete their immigrant visa processing via consular offices abroad. This marks a departure from the previously common practice where many eligible individuals could pursue "Adjustment of Status" from within the U.S. The agency, through spokesperson Zach Kahler, frames this move as a restoration of the "original intent of the law," reserving in-country status adjustments as an "extraordinary form of relief" for limited, case-by-case situations. This policy pivot represents a tightening of U.S. immigration pathways, with profound implications for sectors reliant on global talent and potentially exacerbating "brain drain" concerns in an already tight global labor market. It significantly alters the trajectory for hundreds of thousands of high-skilled workers, particularly those on H-1B visa, as well as students and other non-immigrant visa holders who previously benefited from the administrative convenience and continuity of adjusting status domestically. Economically, the increased bureaucratic hurdles and potential for prolonged processing could deter foreign talent and investment, while geopolitically, it may strain bilateral relations with countries that are major sources of temporary U.S. migrants, such as India, by increasing the logistical and financial burden on their citizens aspiring for permanent residency.