US lawmakers, immigration advocates slam new green card policy, seek reversal

US lawmakers and immigration advocates have sharply criticised as ''reckless and wrong'' the Trump administration's new policy that requires green card seekers to make their applications from their home country.

Democratic lawmakers said they will pursue every avenue to fight against the ''reprehensible decision'' of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and push for its reversal.

The USCIS did not spell out which groups would be exempted, only suggesting that the policy may not apply to persons seeking asylum.

In a statement late on Friday, USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said that people who provide an economic benefit or otherwise are in the national interest will likely be able to continue on their current path.

It was not immediately clear whether these exceptions would extend to skilled foreign workers on H-1B visas.

''This puts 1.2 million Indian Americans and their families in limbo after they followed every law, paid taxes and waited legally for decades,'' Ajay Bhutoria, former White House Advisor to President Biden and Immigration Advocate on the Trump administration's new Green Card processing policy, told PTI Videos.

Bhutoria said different groups will be filing lawsuits challenging this new policy.

The earlier policy allowed foreign workers to change from non-immigrant to immigrant by applying for ''adjustment of status'' from within the US.

''Indian origin immigrants and their families constitute 1.5 per cent of the US population but pay six per cent of the taxes. Sixty per cent of US hotels are owned by Indian immigrants, creating four million jobs.

''Indian origin scientists are instrumental in obtaining 10 per cent of all American patents, and our community's doctors serve 30 per cent of America's patients,'' Sanjeev Joshipura, Executive Director, Indiaspora, a non-profit organisation, told PTI.

He said the new rules will result in increased expenses, temporary family separations and myriad other problems and lead to fewer highly skilled, foreign-born guest workers and their families applying for green cards and embarking on a path to US citizenship.

''We understand, respect and support America's prerogative to create or modify its own immigration rules, but we urge our governmental leaders to do so without impairing our nation's growth prospects and her standing in the world,'' Joshipura said.

US lawmakers also slammed the move and asserted that they would seek the reversal of the decision.

''This reckless policy shows a stunning disregard for the human cost it will impose on hundreds of thousands of people each year. We will pursue every avenue to fight against this reprehensible decision and push for its reversal,'' Congresswoman Grace Meng, chairperson of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said in a statement.

''For over 70 years, adjusting your status to a Green Card from within the US has been the standard pathway to achieve permanent legal status. Now Trump wants to change that solely to inflict damage on our immigrants and mixed families by forcing people to wait often years in their home country,'' Congressman Dan Goldman from New York said.

''This is as stupid as it is cruel. And it solely targets legal immigrants. We won't let this happen,'' he said.

''Trump just made legal immigration harder – on purpose. America is able to attract the top researchers, doctors, & engineers because of our worker visa programmes,'' Congressman Greg Stanton, a Democrat from Arizona, said on X.

''Forcing these immigrants to now leave the US before applying for citizenship will deprive us of their innovation, their tax dollars, & their contributions to our economy,'' Stanton said.

David J Bier, the Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, described the policy as illogical, as it will drive talented people to other countries and make America a less competitive place for business.

In a blogpost, Bier said most legal immigrants – 56 per cent –  since 1980, adjusted status inside the United States and argued that in no sense was this policy reserved for extraordinary situations.

The USCIS has said it would grant green cards to people inside the country only in extraordinary circumstances.

''There are hundreds of thousands of green card applicants in the US. They are nurses and doctors, teachers and engineers, mechanics and farm workers. The Trump Administration wants to force them out of the country while their cases are heard,'' Joaquin Castro, Congressman from Texas, said.

''It is reckless and wrong-and it will separate husbands and wives, parents and children, and break apart communities. All to fuel the admin's mass deportation machine,'' said Castro, who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

''The new White House policy requiring green card applicants to apply from outside the US is a capricious attack on legal immigration. It will hurt families, leave us with fewer doctors, teachers and scientists, and hurt American competitiveness in AI,'' Andrew Ng, Co-founder of Coursera, said in a post on X.

''This new policy will force thousands of LEGAL immigrants, including spouses of US citizens, to leave their homes, families, and jobs for weeks or even months to get their green card outside the US. This is an absurd and cruel policy,'' Congressman Chuy García from Illinois said.

Pointing out that the majority of people who are approved for green cards each year adjust their status from within the US, ''as provided under law since the 1950s,'' Todd Schulte, president of immigration advocacy group FWD.us, said, ''The Trump administration's claim that this is a return to the original intent of the law is plainly false.''.

This process was expressly created by the Congress and has been affirmed a number of times over decades, he said.

''This is another abuse of power that they are trying to dictate through a press release rather than going through the legally required process.''.

Earlier on Friday, USCIS spokesman Kahler said, ''From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.''.

''Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the US for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over,'' the USCIS said.

''Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process,'' it added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)