Days after the United States government issued a notification that sparked concerns among immigrants on temporary visas, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has clarified that most Green Card applicants will not be required to leave the country while their permanent residency applications are being processed, according to The New York Times.
The confusion began after a recent announcement by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) appeared to suggest that applicants seeking permanent residency would generally need to return to their home countries and wait abroad unless they qualified for "extraordinary" exceptions.
The earlier notification was widely interpreted as a major policy shift that would prevent immigrants from completing the Green Card process while staying in the United States.
However, DHS clarified on Friday that there had been no sweeping change in policy. According to The New York Times, immigration officials have long held the authority to decide on a case-by-case basis whether applicants should complete the process from outside the country.
A DHS spokesperson said the recent guidance was only meant to repeat existing discretion and did not introduce any blanket requirement for applicants to leave the United States.
The department further emphasised that the majority of immigrants applying for permanent residency would still be permitted to remain in the country while their applications are reviewed.
Officials also noted that factors such as visa overstays or other immigration-related violations could affect individual cases. However, DHS has not issued detailed criteria regarding who may be asked to complete the process from abroad.
For now, the department has maintained that most Green Card applicants will continue to be allowed to stay in the United States during the processing period.