The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a new memo stating that every migrant must leave the United States while waiting for their Green Card. This directive has triggered a massive upheaval as experts decode what the new rules mean and what visa holders should do. The agency clarified that a visa holder who is temporarily in the US and wishes to obtain a Green Card must return to their home country to apply. The rationale behind this is that a visa holder enters the US temporarily, whereas a Green Card is intended for permanent residents. This clash of intent, according to USCIS, means that individuals on temporary visas should not be allowed to remain in the US while their Green Card application is pending.
Reactions from the Tech and Scientific Community
Russian-origin venture capitalist and founder Nick Davidov strongly condemned the move. He questioned whether this policy implies that every foreign-born scientist would have to cease work and leave the country, waiting for their Green Card in their countries of origin. "So everyone on an O-1 or H-1B visa would have to stop working legally in the US, go back to their country and wait for years of backlog? This includes top scientists in our universities, founders of billion dollar companies. And if we look at individual countries it becomes even more absurd. Indians would have to wait decades. Russians don’t have anywhere to go (there is no US embassy in Russia, hello?). This is the worst imaginable way to disrupt important work for the country and pretend you’re fighting some loophole," Davidov said.
Immigration specialist James Blunt remarked that under this new policy, even Melania Trump could have been asked to return to her home country and wait for her Green Card. "USCIS is supposed to be the plumber that maintains the pipes of our immigration system. Instead, these people are taking a sledgehammer to the entire water line," Blunt added.
Is H-1B Exempt from the Rule?
The H-1B visa is considered a dual-intent non-immigrant visa. Dual intent means that while it is a temporary visa, the holder may intend to immigrate permanently. However, this does not exempt H-1B visa holders from the 'go back to your country' rule. In its memo, USCIS stated that adjustment of status is "extraordinary relief" and that "Maintaining lawful status in a dual intent category is not sufficient, on its own, to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion."
Immigration attorneys have indicated that this rule will almost certainly face legal challenges. The policy has sparked widespread concern among visa holders, employers, and advocacy groups, who argue that it could disrupt research, innovation, and business operations across the United States.
