DHS defends green card policy change as longstanding law, critics warn of family separation

The Department of Homeland Security said green card policy changes would not block qualified applicants, but immigration lawyers and aid groups warned the practical effect could be denials, delays and forced trips abroad for students, workers, tourists, spouses of U.S. citizens, refugees and asylum seekers.

At the center of the dispute is USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, issued May 21, 2026. The memo said adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act is a matter of discretion and administrative grace, and that it is not designed to replace the regular consular visa process. DHS said Saturday that the guidance simply restated “longstanding law and policy,” framing the change as an administrative clarification rather than a new restriction.

The administration also said the policy would not stop qualified applicants from getting green cards. USCIS said some people would instead be directed to apply through the U.S. Department of State overseas rather than through the agency inside the United States. But legal experts said the biggest uncertainty is not the language in the memo itself, it is how aggressively immigration officers will apply it in practice, and whether routine applicants will be treated as discretionary cases that no longer merit a domestic filing path.

That concern has made the policy far broader in effect than the official description suggests. Multiple legal and media analyses said it could affect hundreds of thousands of people who each year seek permanent residence from within the United States, and one report said more than half a million people rely every year on being able to apply domestically. Some reports said the guidance could reach immigrants who have ever been in the country unlawfully or who had gaps between visas, widening the pool of people who may be pushed out of the U.S. filing system.

Aid groups quickly condemned the move. World Relief president and CEO Myal Greene called it “a cruel, anti-family policy change,” saying, “There’s simply no compelling reason for this cruel, anti-family policy change, and I hope and pray it will be reversed, whether by administrative reconsideration, congressional action or the courts.” The fight now is over whether DHS is merely restating old rules or quietly changing who gets to stay in the country while their green card case is decided.