Perhaps more devastatingly, another set of green card-shattering wheels currently on standby mode will begin its run come September, when a new ‘public charge’ rule takes effect.
As noted in a number of recent articles in this corner, applying for a US green card is no longer a walk in the park.
In years past, applying for adjustment of status to permanent resident within the US or applying for an immigrant visa at a US consulate abroad was a relatively smooth process, save for a sprinkling of problematic cases. In fact, the approval rate was fairly high despite the difficulties during the initial stages of the process, especially in employment-based cases.
Even in those instances in which a negative disposition was warranted, the applicants were allowed to cure any deficiency before a final decision was issued.
Fast forward to 2025. The first set of green card-busting wheels was put in motion last year, when the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented a new policy requiring petitioners in family-based sponsorships to undergo biometrics screening to weed out unqualified visa sponsors.
While the policy is sound, it has bred a culture of fear among the immigrant population, as many potential green card sponsors, both US citizens and permanent residents alike, have refrained from or at least delayed the filing of immigrant relative petitions.
Since the majority of family-based petitioners were former immigrants themselves, many were spooked, justifiably or not, by the prospect of having their personal history re-vetted after decades of living blissfully in America. As a result, many beneficiaries have missed out on the chance to obtain a green card despite being statutorily eligible.
Thereafter, a second set of green card-gutting wheels followed, heralding its arrival via a DHS directive mandating the automatic issuance of a Notice to Appear (NTA) to adjustment of status applicants whose cases had been denied. In another era, denial of a green card application did not automatically result in removal proceedings. In fact, unmeritorious cases were often dismissed and closed administratively without further prejudice to the applicant.
Nowadays, the issuance of an NTA after case denial is the norm, resulting in fewer green card applications and approvals.
Recently, another set of green card-crunching wheels came rumbling down the immigration haters’ boulevard when the DHS issued a surprise memo declaring the adjustment of status proceeding as “a matter of discretion and administrative grace” and describing it as “an extraordinary relief that permits applicants to dispense with the ordinary consular visa process.”
The clear import of this new rule is that green card applicants are no longer automatically allowed to adjust status inside the US. Unless they can prove convincingly that the positive equities outweigh the negative factors in their case, they must depart from the US and apply for an immigrant visa at a US consulate abroad, a process that usually takes months and even years to complete. Clearly, this is a bane to many aspiring immigrants that can impact the volume of green card applications moving forward.
Lastly, but perhaps more devastatingly, another set of green card-shattering wheels currently on standby mode will begin its run come September, when a new “public charge” rule takes effect. Since the new rule expands the scope of disqualifying public benefits coverage, many green card applicants will face denial based on these newly expanded criteria.
And yet, setting the wheels in motion is just the beginning.
