US Green Card directive may add new uncertainty for Indian aspirants now

The USCIS memo does not change Green Card law, but immigration lawyers say it may make the final adjustment-of-status stage less predictable for applicants

The US government's decision that foreign nationals seeking lawful permanent residence should generally apply from outside the country through consular processing rather than adjusting status within the country can add a fresh layer of uncertainty to the thousands of Indian engineers who have waited for years for their work visas to pave the way for the coveted Green Card.

 

The new memo has not changed the law, but it has changed the lens through which US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says it will exercise discretion. The memorandum does not amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, alter the regulations governing adjustment of status, or eliminate adjustment under INA section 245 as a pathway to permanent residence. Eligible applicants can still apply for adjustment of status from within the United States.

 

But what it has changed is the discretionary authority, according to immigration lawyers. “What the memo does do is underscore — far more explicitly than before — that adjustment of status is discretionary. Through this Memorandum, USCIS is reminding adjudicating officers, and applicants, that adjustment is not an entitlement simply because statutory eligibility has been met. It is, in the agency’s words, an exercise of administrative discretion,” said Poorvi Chothani, Managing Partner at immigration law firm LawQuest.

 

The USCIS notified last week about this change, adding that aliens who are in the US temporarily and want a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances. “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes,” according to a statement.

 

It, however, clarified later that foreign nationals offering “economic benefit” or serving the “national interest” could qualify for exemptions under the tougher policy.

 

This follows a massive clampdown on the issuance of H-1B visas, where registrations submitted for financial year 2027 dropped 38 per cent to 211,600 from 343,981 a year earlier. The USCIS said it was approving more applicants with advanced degrees and higher salaries, attempting to shut the door on low-wage and low-skilled foreign workforce.

 

For Indian EB-2 and EB-3 applicants, however, the practical problem for Green Cards remains entirely unchanged. The crushing backlog driven by per-country quotas and the Visa Bulletin still exists, and this memorandum does nothing to shorten those waits. What it changes is the level of predictability at the end of that journey. Historically, once an applicant had maintained valid H-1B status, secured an approved I-140, and finally reached a current priority date after years — often decades — of waiting, adjustment of status was largely treated as the final procedural step.

 

Sukanya Raman, a US immigration advisor with Davies and Associates, says even where applicants meet all statutory requirements, USCIS appears to be placing greater emphasis on weighing “positive and negative factors,” making adjudications more subjective and less predictable for applicants and employers alike.

 

“Individuals already in dual-intent classifications such as the H-1B Visa or L-1 Visa, as well as applicants with pending filings submitted before May 22, are less likely to be directly affected. However, applicants with prior immigration violations, status issues, or criminal history should consider reviewing their cases carefully in light of this evolving discretionary framework. Given this shift, applicants and employers should remain proactive and carefully prepared, as evolving adjudication standards could lead to heightened scrutiny, delays, or discretionary denials even in otherwise approvable cases,” she added.