US Directs Green Card Applicants to Submit Applications from Their Home Countries
The US immigration agency has announced that foreign nationals are now required to return to their home countries to apply for permanent residency due to a new rule.
Tanzanians and others seeking green cards must return to their home countries to submit their applications, according to the US authorities.
Tanzanians and other foreign nationals in the United States seeking to change their status from temporary visa holders to permanent residents are now required to return to their home country to apply for a Green Card.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) disclosed in a statement on Friday that the US is returning to its “original intent” immigration law by requiring non-immigrants to apply for permanent residency from their home countries instead of from within the North American country.
It clarified that the policy aimed to guarantee that non-immigrants visiting the US for a limited duration and a specific purpose would return to their home country after fulfilling the purpose of their visit.
The policy follows several months after the US enacted a ban on various visa categories affecting Nigeria and 14 other nations.
The statement indicated that aliens wishing to adjust their status would now need to process their residency applications through US consular offices located abroad, under the oversight of the United States Department of State.
“We are going back to the fundamental purpose of the law to guarantee that individuals from other countries follow our nation’s immigration system correctly.” “From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wishes to obtain a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” it explained.
USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler stated that the policy aims to decrease the number of migrants who remain in the country illegally following unsuccessful residency applications.
Kahler stated, “This policy enables our immigration system to operate as the law intended, rather than encouraging loopholes.” When aliens apply from their home country, it lessens the necessity to seek out and remove those who choose to disappear and stay in the U.S. illegally after their residency applications are denied.
Nonimmigrants, such as students, temporary workers, or individuals on tourist visas, arrive in the U.S. for a limited duration and with a particular objective. Our system is structured to facilitate their departure once their visit concludes. Their visit should not serve as the initial step in the Green Card process.
“The law was crafted with intention, and although it has been overlooked for years, adhering to it will contribute to a fairer and more efficient system.”
