The Government of Donald Trump announced this May 22 a new requirement for all migrants who are in the country temporarily and wish to obtain permanent residence (popularly known as green card).
The new requirement is that temporary migrants They must necessarily leave the United States to process the process before the American consulate in your place of origin.
According to statements from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), This provision was already stipulated in the Immigration and Nationality Law.
USCIS added that, although the rule already existed, previous US governments had not enforced it.
Under this new provision, affected people They will be those with temporary visas intended for work, tourism or studies.
What visas does this provision affect?
This new provision from Donald Trump’s Government will affect temporary visas, also known as nonimmigrant visas.
Within this category are B-1 and B-2 visas, used by those who travel to the United States for business or tourism; and F-1 and M-1 visasfocused on students of academic programs.
It will also affect visas granted for various categories of work, such as H-1B, intended for specialized occupations, and H-2A and H-2Bfor agricultural and non-agricultural work.
“Original purpose of the law”
Originally, when temporary migrants requested a change in their immigration status, they did so within the United States and could ask for your green card for different reasons, such as marriage, employment or family reunification.
This was a process that could take many years, but temporary immigrants obtained renewals of their visas.
Now, Trump’s new provision seeks to allow applicants for a green card return to their countries of origin to process it at the consulates of the State Department.
“We return to the original purpose of the law to ensure that foreigners navigate our immigration system correctly. From now on, a foreigner who is temporarily in the United States and If you want to obtain a green card, you must return to your country of origin to apply for it.except in exceptional circumstances,” said USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler.
Kahler indicated that this measure will allow “reducing the need to locate and deport those who decide to remain illegally in the United States.”
“The law was written this way for a reason and, although it ignored for years, complying with it will help make our system fairer and more efficient”he added.
Read also: Exemptions on the English exam? Who is exempt from testing to obtain US citizenship?