{"id":705,"date":"2026-05-29T08:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=705"},"modified":"2026-05-29T08:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:05:11","slug":"new-green-card-policy-sparks-fear-and-anxiety-over-path-to-residency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=705","title":{"rendered":"New green card policy sparks \u2018fear and anxiety\u2019 over path to residency"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – New U.S. immigration policy guidance is requiring those applying for a green card to return to their home country to complete the process.<\/p>\n

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The change is causing anxiety for many who\u2019ve been in America for years.<\/p>\n

Last week, on a process called \u201cadjustment of status,\u201d where non-U.S. citizens with certain visas can apply for permanent residency or a green card.<\/p>\n

The memo says it\u2019s up to a CIS officer to decide if that process should done in the U.S. or if the applicant has to go back to their home country.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cIt upends a lot of people\u2019s lives. They may be going to school, they may already be working, they may already have families,\u201d said attorney and immigrant advocate Sergio Alcubilla, who says his wife, a Japanese national, has had a green card for almost 30 years. \u201cIt definitely caused a lot of fear and anxiety in communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that Japanese citizens are not allowed to have dual U.S. citizenship, so she opted for permanent residency instead.<\/p>\n

He says she renews it every five years without issues, but now she\u2019s worried about the process this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not sure if she needs to now leave the country to renew \u2014 she\u2019s been working here for a very long time \u2014 even though she has a lawful permanent residency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Attorney Esther Yoo, director of the Refugee and Immigration Law Clinic at UH Manoa, says since the memo came out, she\u2019s heard reports of CIS officers asking applicants about their immigration status and history, moral character, and other factors to determine if they warrant \u201cextraordinary discretionary relief\u201d and an \u201cact of administrative grace,\u201d as directed in the new memo. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to have to prove to the officers reviewing your application that you deserved to to be able to go through the process while in the United States instead of having to go back to your home country and wait there and go through the interview there,\u201d Yoo said, adding that the process is already costly and stressful for families.<\/p>\n

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Yoo says there are no reports of denials or detentions so far. <\/p>\n

The Trump administration wants to deter people from overstaying or misusing non-immigrant visas, so those on tourist or student visas are more likely to have to leave the country to apply for residency.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cFor those who married U.S. citizens, for example, and they overstay their visas, they were still allowed to adjust status and so what this memo is saying is that\u2019s not a guarantee anymore.\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

Adding to the anxiety, visa violators could be barred from returning to the U.S. for 3 to 10 years, depending on how long they overstayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce they leave the country, they can be subject to this bar and especially if they have strong community ties or they have family,\u201d Yoo said.<\/p>\n

Advocates expect the policy to be challenged in court, citing a current law that allows noncitizens to apply for green cards in the U.S. with the support of close relatives like parents or a spouse.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cCan the executive branch agency like Department of Homeland Security, can they just kind of ignore that part of the law that Congress passed, right?\u201d <\/p>\n

If you have a green card application pending, you\u2019re advised to consult an immigration attorney, because every case is different. <\/p>\n

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Here are some legal resources:<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a six-page policy memo saying CIS officers can decide if green card application process can be done in the U.S. or if the applicant has to go back to their home country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNew green card policy sparks \u2018fear and anxiety\u2019 over path to residency - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=705\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New green card policy sparks \u2018fear and anxiety\u2019 over path to residency - 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