Making a mountain out of a molehill? A tempest in a teapot? Perhaps “much ado about nothing” is the perfect description for last week’s hullabaloo over a proverbial curveball lobbed by the USDHS at unsuspecting green card applicants in the US.
By issuing a controversial memo out of the blue declaring an adjustment of status application to be some sort of extraordinary relief reserved only for the most extraordinary circumstances, the USDHS has, wittily or unwittingly, caused widespread fear and panic among the millions of green card aspirants in the US.
As explained in last week’s column, adjustment of status is the process by which a nonimmigrant is allowed to convert to permanent resident status (green card) inside the US without having to leave the country to apply for an immigrant visa (consular process) at an American consulate abroad. It generally requires an approved immigrant petition with a current priority date.
As explained further, among its chief advantages is the convenience of not being required to travel back to one’s home country to undergo consular processing, which can take months or even years in some cases, not to mention the perceived leniency of US-based adjudication officers as compared to the overly strict demeanor of US consular officials abroad.
Another notable benefit is the elimination of the risk of being stranded indefinitely outside the US in case of an adverse visa decision. As noted in last week’s column, green card applicants have always been apprehensive about leaving the US for fear of not being able to reenter in the future, especially those with prior questionable status.
Much to everyone’s surprise, however, and only one week after the original memo was issued, the USDHS subsequently issued a statement clarifying that the new directive “was just a reminder to officers of their discretionary authority, which has always existed on a case-by-case basis.”
And to further assuage the immigrant community’s concern, the USDHS also announced that the majority of green card applicants would still be able to adjust their status in the US.
Still, and unless the controversial memo is expressly recalled or otherwise invalidated, it’s hard to reconcile the USDHS’ latest statement with the tenor of its original directive, especially the notion that an adjustment of status application is some kind of extraordinary relief necessitating the presence of extraordinary circumstances while bearing down on the applicant’s responsibility to overcome a heavy evidentiary burden to establish eligibility for adjustment of status.
Given this patent incongruity, it is possible the USDHS’ clarification is merely an attempt to pay lip service to the immigrant advocates’ pleas, unless it signifies a genuine change of heart by the Trump administration.
If the latter view proves accurate, and one can only hope it does, this means that — to use a baseball metaphor — the headhunting pitcher has tweaked his pitch delivery at the last moment to throw a 60-mph knuckleball instead of a nasty curveball. While the ball can still hit the batter flush in the face, it won’t break the fellow’s nose.
This time, there would be no shattered bones. Only bruised egos and a brief scare. Just like last week’s sudden bouts of fear experienced by millions of green card hopefuls in America.
