Di United States don announce new policy wey go make most immigrants wey dey find green card to leave di kontri and apply for am from embassy or consulate for dia home kontri.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) tok on Friday say people wey dey seek change of status must do am through consular processing outside US, except for extraordinary circumstances.
Di move na part of Trump administration effort to curtail illegal immigration. E go close loophole wey don allow visa holders and visitors to apply for green card while dem still dey inside US.
Critics of di policy say di longstanding system don allow families to stay together during di lengthy application process. Di new method fit make am difficult or impossible for some immigrants wey leave di kontri to gain green card to return.
Di USCIS policy memo state say people like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visa need to go through Department of State from outside US. “When aliens apply from dia home kontri, e reduce di need to find and remove those wey decide to slip into di shadows and remain in US illegally after dem deny dem residency,” USCIS tok, saying di system go become “fairer and more efficient”.
Di Department of Homeland Security, wey dey oversee USCIS, write on X: “Di era of abusing our nation’s immigration system don over. We dey return to di original intent of di law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly.” USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler confirm am.
From now, any alien wey dey US temporarily and want green card must return to dia home kontri to apply, except for extraordinary circumstances. Kahler say di policy go allow immigration system “to function as di law intended instead of incentivising loopholes” and say visits “should not function as di first step for green card process”.
E no clear whether pending green card applications go dey affected. A spokesperson for USCIS tell BBC say as di policy dey rolled out, “people wey present applications wey provide economic benefit or otherwise dey for national interest go likely continue on dia current path”. “Others fit be asked to apply abroad depending on individualised circumstances,” dem tok.
Obtaining green card na multi-step process wey fit take months to several years. Dey currently more dan one million legal immigrants dey wait for approval on dia adjustment-of-status green card applications, according to Cato Institute director of immigration studies.
Kahler argue say following di law allow for majority of cases to dey handled by US State Department at consular offices abroad and free up USCIS resources to focus on processing other cases wey fall under its purview, like visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, and naturalisation applications.
Di move dey consistent with longstanding immigration law and court decisions, di agency tok. Immigration officers dey directed to “consider all relevant factors and information on a case-by-case basis when determining whether an alien warrants this extraordinary form of relief”.
Michael Valverde, wey be senior official for USCIS under both Republican and Democratic administrations until im departure last year, tell BBC US media partner CBS say Friday announcement go “disrupt di plans of hundreds of thousands of families and employers annually”. “This na largely unprecedented move wey go limit lawful immigration to US greatly,” Valverde tok. “People wey follow di rules faithfully now face tremendous uncertainty.”
Di Trump administration don instate bans or restrictions on citizens from nearly 40 kontris. Anoda policy from di administration this year don pause issuing visas to immigrant visa applicants from 75 kontris. Overstaying US visa fit lead to deportation, ineligibility for future visas and re-entry bans lasting up to 10 years, according to US State Department.
Immigrant advocacy groups criticise di measure, warning say e fit force vulnerable people to return to unsafe or unstable conditions while dey wait for decisions on dia applications. HIAS, a nonprofit organisation wey support refugees and oda migrants, say di policy fit affect survivors of trafficking as well as abused and neglected children by requiring dem to leave US to complete parts of di permanent residency process.
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