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Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

nytimes.com

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Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#951

Post by swat535 »

thelastgallon wrote: post #865
fredrb wrote: post #66

This news has to be read alongside the immigration visa emission pause for 75 countries by DOS[1]. Since USCIS is blocking Adjustment of Status, and the Department of State is blocking green card emission for citizens of 75 countries, this means that if you are from the following countries you are effectively banned from getting a Green Card: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ba…

India has the largest backlog of applicants, this will help Indians (and to some extent Chinese) get GCs quickly.

The quota per country isn't being adjusted. I'm not sure what you're referring to?

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#952

Post by canyp »

rayiner wrote: post #906
varenc wrote: post #443

The internal memo on this is interesting: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/memos/PM-... Essentially they're trying to change the rules by aggressive re-interpretation of the existing legal framework, and not actually changing any laws or regulations. I don't follow all of it, but it seems to be arguing that the "ordinary consular process", leaving the country and applying for a visa from abroad, is…

> Essentially they're trying to change the rules by aggressive re-interpretation of the existing legal framework, and not actually changing any laws or regulations. If you want to make that argument, you have to confront the fact that H1 is by its terms a “nonimmigrant” visa for people who are “temporarily” in the U.S. 8 USC 1101(a)(15)&(a)(15)(H). While adjustment of status was possible, it was never intended to be…

H1-B (I think H1 generally) is dual intent. https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM040210.html

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#953

Post by varenc »

rayiner wrote: post #949
softwaredoug wrote: post #946

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only is changing laws harder. Changing regulations requires following the Administrative Procedure Act. They might also be short circuiting APA - as in typical for this admin to attempt.

What part of this memo changes the regulations? The punchline is this: “Where adjustment of status is in the discretion of USCIS, officers are reminded that they are to consider all relevant factors and information in the totality of the circumstances in exercising that discretion.” All the memo is saying is reminding USCIS officers that adjustment of status is an act of administrative grace and applicants aren’t ent…

That is what the memo is trying to say. That no regulations or laws are changing, but it's simply pushing for a certain interpretation of the law that doesn't seem to have been the status quo for awhile.

Some stats I found online report that ~60% of greencards are granted to people already living the US. This memo makes it seem like that route will now be much harder. So while its true that the law as written has always been true, they're definitely pushing for a change that will result in past behaviors no longer being true.

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#954

Post by JuniperMesos »

999900000999 wrote: post #420
Underphil wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I received mine in 2020 and have decided to move back home. The uncertainty in general just keeps me up at night. Feels like the goalposts could move at any moment. I know I'm likely overreacting but it is what it is.

If anything everyone else is under reacting. You have ICE officers randomly abducting people off appearance alone and then detaining them for days if not weeks. If you were a citizen the whole time, cool who cares. No one in America has any rights. That aside, even as someone who's been in this country for generations, I've been exploring options to leave. America is behind most of the developed world in terms of sta…

If this was actually true, there wouldn't be so many people from the developed world trying to immigrate to the US, and upset about the US government making this harder.

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#955

Post by JuniperMesos »

matwood wrote: post #853
pixelatedindex wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and paid over $100,000 in taxes last year alone Genuinely curious, what does taxes have to do with it? Everyone pays taxes, legal or illegal in some form. I don’t think paying your dues should make you more likely to get through the pipeline. After all, you paid those taxes because you made good money, which is what people come here for.

> Genuinely curious, what does taxes have to do with it? It's popular trope from the GOP that immigrants are an economic drain on the US. They get free , so the US must throw them out to save money.

Just because someone pays some taxes (it's hard to avoid paying sales tax if you buy a thing in a store, regardless of your citizenship), doesn't mean they're a net economic benefit to the country they live in, depending on exactly what taxes they pay and what taxpayer-funded services they get.

Immigrants come to the US with a variety of financial situations. Some immigrants are blatantly scamming welfare systems designed for poor Americans or are outright committing fraud (this is much of what is going on with the federal investigation and charges of Somalis in Minnesota). Other immigrants are paying taxes comparable to what American citizens would pay (this is probably the case for most people on H1B visas in the tech industry).

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#956

Post by JuniperMesos »

seshagiric wrote: post #301

This is just reckless without any responsibility. A number of people, especially in tech sector, legally stay in US while their GC is being processed. They have kids born in the USA. If such people were to leave USA to seek green card: - the kids must first get visas to their parent's countries - once reaching the other country, consular offices now have multi year wait lines for getting an appointment with a office…

The most important immigration reform that the US ought to do is a constitutional amendment eliminating the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th amendment. The children of people who are not citizens or even permanent residents of the US should not be allowed to become US citizens just because they were born on US soil. Foreigners should not be able to reside in the US for so long that they have kids, and then use those kids as a justification for why the US is obliged to let them become citizens too.

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#957

Post by 1984throwaway »

1984throwaway wrote: post #395

Typing this from behind a VPN proxy, just in case but... Does anyone know if this mean that I as a US citizen, who has a spouse who has already applied/submitted their application (but has been waiting while the government drags its feet on it for over half a year), will now need to say goodbye? Things were already getting blurry when we moved quickly to get things in when we saw the winds in 24.... This is all so te…

That is batshit insane. Thank you for the insight and messages from people. (almost posted this on my main, scary times)

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#958

Post by pandaman »

zaptheimpaler wrote: post #852
testing22321 wrote: post #655

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t want to defend the cure administration, but it’s very common and normal for a country to require a person to leave to change status. Every time my Canadian work visa expired I had to drive over the border, enter the US, turn around and drive back to start the new one. The border guards call it “flag-poling” because you do a U turn around the flag pole. When I went from work visa to permanent resident I had to…

Even if it is common (i don't think this is required any more anyways), just why? Why do we need to make someone run back and forth across the border for the immigration department to do some paperwork? It seems purely designed to inconvenience people for absolutely no gain to anyone.

A consulate overseas is more equipped to vet someone from the country where it is located than a USCIS office in New Hampshire. E.g. it has people able to read the documents in the local language and access to the officials who can validate those, it has people able to call or mail local authorities to ask about an applicant's involvement in crime, it has people who can recognize affiliations with local extremist groups etc.

It is actually really bizarre that the USCIS would essentially take the applicant's word without any vetting before this memo.

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#959

Post by HPMOR »

JuniperMesos wrote: post #956
seshagiric wrote: post #301

This is just reckless without any responsibility. A number of people, especially in tech sector, legally stay in US while their GC is being processed. They have kids born in the USA. If such people were to leave USA to seek green card: - the kids must first get visas to their parent's countries - once reaching the other country, consular offices now have multi year wait lines for getting an appointment with a office…

The most important immigration reform that the US ought to do is a constitutional amendment eliminating the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th amendment. The children of people who are not citizens or even permanent residents of the US should not be allowed to become US citizens just because they were born on US soil. Foreigners should not be able to reside in the US for so long that they have kids, and then u…

Holy shit, I cannot believe this is an actual belief people currently hold. We fought a war for this amendment.

Re: Green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply, Trump administration says

#960

Post by FireBeyond »

jmyeet wrote: post #813
KingMachiavelli wrote: post #97

Absurd, currently trying to figure out how to sponsor my wife and now this. The wording seems to imply that even those here on valid non-immigrant visas (F1) would need to apply via their home country. It doesn’t help that I130+I485 (AOS) could take over a year to process? If you have filed I485 and they fail to process it before your current visa expires (D/S ends like F1 OPT). Then what? You just have to leave, aba…

It sounds like your wife came to the US on an F1 visa, you got married and are now filing or have filed for I130+I485 for her. I assume too that you were a US citizen. These facts may not be correct. IANAL but I absolutely think you should be forking over the money for an immigraiton lawyer and that was true before this memo came out. I've seen so many people who call their cases "simple" or "straightforward" but 2 m…

I would strongly advise for a lawyer, too, but some of your statements are less accurate, as someone who came here on a K-1 visa, in a genuine and sincere relationship, divorced and in the process of the divorce missed some filing deadlines and also hired a lawyer to clear it up.

> Did you know your wife prior to her coming to the US? If so, USCIS might take the position that this was a scheme for her to come to the US and adjust status rather than consular processing and the burden of proof that it wasn't is on you

Depending on status, per my lawyer, the assumption is that the visa is valid based on the initial application process. The burden on my "fixing" things, despite divorce, etc., was on USCIS to show that it wasn't sincere. That means they -did- ask for evidence (bank statements, insurance policies, financial instruments, cosigned leases, etc.) but they had to show that those "didn't sufficiently show an authentic relationship".

> Did she make any visa applications and misrepresent her status to you

This can be a challenge, but not usually a problem. After my visa was granted I started interviewing from Australia for jobs. When I did get a job, my new employer through a HR mixup set wheels in motion for a H-1B for me, which I hurriedly told them to cancel as I didn't need it.

> Are you prepared for the interview where the officer may separate you and then compare your answers?

Definitely will, not may. We faced questions like "what night is garbage night and who takes out the trash usually", "how long have they been working in the field they are currently employed in" (not just how long at current job). "Are both their parents alive, where do they live?" etc.

A lawyer is, especially now, a solid investment.

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