The new policy could force hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants to leave the country.

A Trump administration directive announced last week threatened to require most applicants for permanent residency to wait out the process in their home country.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Saturday saying recent green card policy changes restated "longstanding law and policy."

The Trump administration aims to downplay the impact of new green card policies, amid concerns from immigrant advocacy groups and lawyers.

The new policy could force hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants to leave the country.