USCIS Restricts Adjustment of Status: Green Card Applications Now Face Strict Discretionary Review

In a sweeping policy announcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a formal memorandum (PM-602-0199, dated May 21, 2026, and announced May 22) directing officers to treat adjustment of status as “extraordinary” discretionary relief and to weigh an applicant’s choice to skip consular processing as a negative factor, a dramatic departure from decades of practice that allowed many immigrants already in the United States to apply for a Green Card without leaving the country.

Under the new directive, USCIS officers may weigh an applicant’s choice to adjust status inside the U.S. through Form I-485, instead of going through consular processing at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad, as a negative factor. This can affect students on F-1 visas, temporary workers on H-1B visas, visitors on tourist or business visas, and others. The memo does not bar anyone from filing Form I-485, and it does not require anyone to leave the country. Do not leave the U.S. without legal advice: departing can trigger the 3-year and 10-year unlawful-presence bars and can be treated as abandoning a pending I-485.

Who Is Affected?

The change primarily impacts individuals currently in the United States on temporary visas who had planned to transition to permanent residency through an internal adjustment of status filing. Affected visa categories may include, but are not limited to: F-1 student visas, H-1B and L-1 employment-based work visas, B-1/B-2 tourist and business visas, and K-1 fiancé visas.

USCIS officers are instructed to weigh each case individually. The memo says some applicants may need unusual or outstanding favorable factors to overcome negative ones, but it does not list what will be enough. In our firm’s experience so far, most adjustment of status cases have continued to move forward much as they did before the memo, but USCIS still reviews each case individually and outcomes can vary.

What USCIS Says

The agency framed the change as a return to the original design of U.S. immigration law, stating that consular processing — handled by the Department of State — was always the intended pathway for most Green Card applicants. Officials argued that liberal granting of adjustment of status created system inefficiencies, incentivized unlawful presence after residency denial, and diverted limited USCIS resources away from higher-priority cases. The agency stated the new policy will allow USCIS to better focus on processing visas for victims of violent crime, human trafficking petitions, and naturalization applications.

What Happens Next?

Immigration attorneys and advocacy organizations have already begun raising concerns about the real-world consequences of this policy, particularly for long-term residents who have lived and worked in the United States for years and could face re-entry bars if they leave to process abroad. On October 5, 2026, unions, educators, advocacy groups and individual applicants filed a federal lawsuit in Massachusetts (AAUP v. Mullin) asking the court to block the policy. Until a court intervenes, this policy is in effect.

If you or a family member may be affected by this new USCIS policy, do not wait. The stakes are too high to navigate this alone. Our immigration team at Banker’s Hill Law Firm, APC is ready to review your case and guide you through your options.