The Trump administration’s latest move to recast adjustment of status as an ‘extraordinary discretionary benefit’ and push green card applicants towards consular processing abroad is expected to trigger immediate litigation, according to immigration attorneys. In fact, the policy could also disrupt the H-1B-to-green card pathway via adjustment of status, relied upon by lakhs of Indians.
The memo issued Friday by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) directs officers to treat adjustment of status as an ‘extraordinary form of relief’, and says applicants should generally pursue immigrant visas through US consulates abroad instead of obtaining green cards from within the US.
