U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow, pictured during a congressional hearing in April, announced on Friday that people in the U.S. on any kind of visa who want to apply for a greed card will have to leave the country to do so. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
May 22 (UPI) -- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday that people in the United States temporarily who want to apply for a green card will have to leave first.
USCIS said in a statement that people who have traveled to the United States on a temporary visa but want a green card to remain in the country permanently "must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances."
The new requirement could make it more difficult to obtain permanent residency in the United States, and may lead to family separations and longer wait times, experts have said.
"This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes," Zach Kahler, spokesperson for USCIS, said in the statement.
