Immigration Attorneys and Advocacy Groups Sound Alarm Over PM-602-0199 — Pending I-485 Cases Face Discretionary Denial Under New USCIS Green Card Policy; Legal Challenges Anticipated

In the days following USCIS's issuance of Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 on May 21, 2026, immigration attorneys and advocacy organizations issued urgent guidance to clients and warning to the public about the policy's sweeping implications for hundreds of thousands of pending green card applications. Multiple immigration law firms published analyses noting that individuals with currently pending I-485 adjustment of status applications — including cases that may have been pending for months or years — are at risk of discretionary denial under the new heightened scrutiny framework, even if they meet all statutory eligibility requirements. The 'extraordinary circumstances' standard, combined with USCIS's near-total discretion in evaluating 'positive and negative factors,' means that minor prior immigration violations, lapses in status, or past unauthorized entry could now be used to deny applications that would previously have been approved as a matter of course. Immigration attorneys noted that USCIS PM-602-0199 represents a structural reinterpretation of Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which Congress explicitly included as an alternative to consular processing. The Murthy Law Firm, Erickson Immigration Group, Clark Hill, and Quarles immigration practices each published advisories on or around May 22–24 warning clients to consult their attorneys immediately before USCIS could act on pending I-485 petitions. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) indicated it was reviewing the memo for potential federal court challenges. Legal scholars pointed to the BIA's April 25 ruling on DACA status as part of a broader pattern: the Trump administration systematically reinterpreting immigration statutes to contract legal pathways without congressional action. The memo takes effect immediately with no transition period for applicants who structured their plans around the adjustment of status pathway. The policy is expected to dramatically expand voluntary departures — a trend already accelerating in 2026 according to Washington Post reporting — as applicants calculate that consular processing abroad may be their only option.