EU restores normal visas for Ethiopians

What's happened

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued guidance requiring most foreign nationals who are in the U.S. temporarily to return to their home countries to complete green card (adjustment of status) processing, except in "extraordinary circumstances." Advocacy groups and immigration lawyers have pushed back, warning of family separation and longer delays.

What's behind the headline?

What changed and why it matters

USCIS has changed long-standing practice by saying adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit and that "an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances." This is being presented as a return to the "original intent of the law."
The policy is being implemented across categories that previously relied on in‑country processing: spouses of U.S. citizens, work‑visa holders, students, refugees and asylum seekers.

Practical consequences

Families will be separated while applicants "are returning" home and waiting for consular processing; consulates will face increased workloads and longer waits.
People from countries with paused consular services or travel bans will be trapped in a Catch‑22: required to leave but unable to complete immigrant visas abroad, which will force prolonged separations.
Applicants who have overstayed or violated visa terms will face harsher discretionary reviews; officers are being told to weigh violations, unauthorised employment and fraud when denying in‑country adjustments.

Political and administrative drivers

The guidance is fitting into a broader administration strategy to shrink the flow to permanent residency by turning USCIS from a benefits agency into an enforcement tool; officials are reallocating agency discretion to reduce approvals.
The change will shift processing burden from USCIS to State Department consulates and will increase removal risks for those who leave and are barred from return due to inadmissibility rules.

Forecast

Expect legal challenges and urgent policy litigation focused on whether Congress intended adjustment of status to be treated as "extraordinary."
Expect spikes in consular backlogs and longer family separations; some applicants will be effectively blocked if their home-country consular services remain limited or closed.
Employers relying on temporary workers will see increased uncertainty as some professional visa holders are forced abroad during lengthy processing.

Who benefits and who loses

The administration will gain a tool to reduce green card grants; enforcement and removal operations will become easier to justify administratively.
Families, refugees, and immigrant workers will lose timely, predictable pathways to residency and will face increased legal and personal risk.

How we got here

For decades, many nonimmigrants (students, temporary workers, spouses of US citizens, refugees) have been able to adjust status inside the U.S. The USCIS guidance has been issued as part of a wider set of administration moves tightening legal immigration and reducing pathways to permanent residency.

Our analysis

USCIS and agency statements: The initial guidance is being summarised in multiple outlets. The New York Times (Madeleine Ngo) reports USCIS saying green cards will be granted inside the country only in "extraordinary circumstances," quoting agency spokesman Zach Kahler: "This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended." The Times notes USCIS has not specified whether applicants must remain abroad for the entire process and reports that more than 820,000 people adjusted status inside the U.S. in 2024. AP News and SBS (AP source) have repeated the core guidance and highlighted agency language that temporary visitors "should not function as the first step in the Green Card process," while flagging that USCIS did not elaborate on implementation details or timing. Al Jazeera (Elizabeth Melimopoulos) has detailed USCIS instructions that officers should consider visa violations, unauthorised employment and fraud when exercising discretion, and that limited exceptions for "dual intent" categories do not guarantee approval. The Independent (Alex Woodward) has placed the guidance in the context of a broader enforcement push, reporting that USCIS is transferring attorneys to Justice Department denaturalization efforts and noting internal agency changes under the current director. Advocacy reaction: AP and Al Jazeera cite immigrant advocates and groups such as World Relief and HIAS warning the policy will force family separations and could endanger vulnerable people—World Relief called the requirement to return home a "Catch‑22" where visas are not being processed. Legal perspective: The Independent and NYT point out that federal law does not label adjustment of status "extraordinary," and lawyers predict litigation. Together, the sources show consensus on the policy's thrust and disagreement on its legality and humanitarian impact.

Go deeper

Who qualifies as an "extraordinary circumstance" for staying in the U.S. during adjustment?
Will current pending in‑country adjustment applications be allowed to finish without leaving?
How will consular backlogs and paused visa services affect applicants from countries with restricted processing?

US bars in‑country green cards