A new federal memo could force hundreds of thousands of visa holders to leave the U.S.—and wait abroad—to apply for permanent residency.

New policy requires immigrants who are in the US temporarily to apply for permanent status ‘outside of the country’

In a typical year, 1 million people apply for green cards and half of those apply from within the U.S. to change their status while they are living here, a former USCIS official…