USCIS Issues PM-602-0199 Requiring Most Green Card Applicants to Leave the U.S. — Adjustment of Status Reclassified as 'Extraordinary' Relief; 780,000+ Annual Applicants Face Departure Requirement

On May 21, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, announcing that adjustment of status — the statutory process allowing immigrants already inside the United States to obtain a green card without leaving the country — will be granted only in 'extraordinary circumstances' going forward. The memo, widely reported by NPR, NBC News, CNN, and the Washington Post on May 22–23, instructs USCIS officers to treat in-country green card applications as an act of 'administrative grace' rather than a right, and to apply heightened discretionary scrutiny. The practical consequence: most visa holders seeking a green card — including spouses, children, and parents of U.S. citizens; H-1B and other work visa holders; F-1 student visa holders; religious workers; and others — will now be required to leave the United States and apply through consulates abroad under the State Department's consular processing system. Consular processing is typically slower, more expensive, and less transparent than adjustment of status; applicants cannot work during the waiting period and risk visa denial decisions that are 'virtually unchallengeable' in U.S. courts. The policy affects an estimated 780,000 to 800,000 green card applicants per year — approximately 53% of whom are immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, 28% are refugees or asylees, and 15% are employment-based applicants. The USCIS press release stated adjustment of status would still be considered where applicants demonstrate 'strong equities' and 'humanitarian or other circumstances that would make consular processing unduly harsh.' The memo does not create formal new eligibility bars but signals that USCIS will increasingly exercise its longstanding but rarely used discretionary authority to deny otherwise-eligible I-485 applications — a power largely immune from judicial review because of the plenary power doctrine. Immigration bar associations and advocates warned the memo effectively eviscerates a congressionally enacted immigration pathway for most applicants without an act of Congress. The ACLU and National Immigration Law Center indicated they were reviewing the memo for legal challenge. The policy was issued the same week the Senate left for the Memorial Day recess without voting on the $71.7B ICE/CBP reconciliation package.