The United States administration of President Donald Trump is releasing a new policy that will require all foreigners in US to return to their home countries if they desire to apply for Permanent Residency.
According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services which is responsible for running the Green Card system, immigrants will be required to return to their home countries before they can petition for Green Cards. These applications will then be filed at the consulate designated for the applicant’s home country.
“Non-immigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process,” the USCIS stated.
For examples, Kenyans living in the United States who want to apply for regularize their status from temporary residents will be required to return to Nairobi and make the application at the US Embassy in Nairobi. These include workers, students and visitors.
The agency states that it is only under extraordinary circumstances that foreigners who are living in the United States will be granted permanent residency without leaving.
“When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the US illegally after being denied residency,” the agency further added.
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According to the USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler, the new system will allow the United States’ immigration system “to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes” and that visits to the United States “should not function as the first step in the Green Card process”.
“We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly,” said Kahler.
