New rule requires most green-card applicants to apply from outside U.S.

Democracy Dies in DarknessImmigrationImmigration lawyers say the change could affect a wide swath of people and marks an escalation in the administration’s efforts to curtail legal migration.May 22, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. EDTYesterday at 5:30 p.m. EDTU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow speaks at the agency's headquarters in Camp Springs, Maryland, last year. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)The Trump administration Friday announced it would require most foreigners seeking green cards to apply from outside the United States, a shift in long-standing practice that immigration lawyers said could affect hundreds of thousands of people who file applications each year while living in America on temporary visas.