Green card applicants should go home? New US citizenship rule may hit Indians hardest; check how you could be affected

Thousands of Indians living and working in the United States could soon face fresh uncertainty after the Donald Trump administration announced a major shift in how green card applications will be handled. Under the new policy issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), many foreign nationals seeking permanent residency may now have to leave the United States and complete their green card process from their home countries instead of applying while remaining in America. "An alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply," said the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has oversight of USCIS. "This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes."

What does it mean for Indians?

For Indians, especially H-1B professionals stuck in decades-long employment-based green card backlogs, the move could prove deeply disruptive.

Indian tech workers have long relied on the "adjustment of status" route, which allows applicants already living legally in the US to apply for green cards without leaving the country. The new memo signals a much stricter interpretation of immigration rules and warns that staying legally in the US on visas like H-1B or L-1 may no longer automatically work in an applicant’s favour.

This is particularly worrying for Indian families who have built entire lives in the United States while waiting years, sometimes over a decade, for green cards due to country caps and visa backlogs. The policy could potentially force applicants to leave jobs, homes, and families in the US and return to India for consular processing, with no clear timeline on when they may be allowed back.

Notably, there are two main routes to apply for a green card: applying at a U.S. consulate abroad, or applying from within the United States through a process known as “adjustment of status.”

What about Indian students in the USA?

Students may also face increased scrutiny. F-1 visa holders could be especially vulnerable because student visas are not considered "dual intent" visas. In simple terms, students originally promise US authorities they do not intend to immigrate permanently, something officers may now examine more closely during green card applications.

The announcement has already triggered concern among immigration lawyers and advocacy groups, who fear the policy could separate mixed-status families and create fresh chaos in an already overloaded immigration system.

Immigration experts warn that green card applications may no longer be treated as routine paperwork. Applicants, especially Indians in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories, may now have to actively prove why they deserve to stay in the United States.

How many Indians are currently awaiting coveted Green Cards?

According to USCIS data for India's employment-based immigrant petitions through fiscal year 2025, a total of 68,567 petitions were received in 2025 alone. Of these, 48,162 were approved, 3,903 were denied, while a massive 16,502 cases remain pending or under review.

Between 2014 and 2025, Indians submitted over 7.6 lakh employment-based green card petitions, with more than 6.27 lakh approvals, around 41,184 denials, and over 21,497 applications still pending.

The backlog is especially severe in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories, widely used by Indian H-1B professionals and tech workers.