Some 540,000 family-based and around 170,000 employment-based green card applications are currently pending with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), show data from the agency. A May 22 memo announcing the policy did not specify whether it would apply only to new applications or also have retrospective effect.

The Trump administration now requires many green card applicants to leave the U.S. and apply from their home countries.

Trump administration mandates Green Card applicants to apply from home countries, aiming to reduce illegal residency in the U.S.

New rules force most applicants to leave the US to process renewal applications

Students, workers and some family applicants could be forced abroad