The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that foreigners temporarily residing in the United States, including Nigerians, would now be required to return to their home countries to apply for Green Cards instead of adjusting their immigration status from within the U.S.
The development was announced on Friday through a policy memo issued by USCIS and supervised by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has pursued several measures aimed at tightening U.S. immigration policies, including mass deportations targeting people identified as illegal immigrants.
According to USCIS, decisions on whether exceptional relief would be granted under the policy would be handled on a case-by-case basis, meaning immigration officers would individually assess each application based on its specific circumstances, supporting evidence and humanitarian considerations rather than applying a single blanket decision to all applicants.
“An alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, said.
The agency added that the policy was intended to ensure the immigration system operates according to existing laws rather than encouraging people to exploit perceived loopholes in the process.
“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes,” DHS said.
USCIS also noted that the new directive would help the agency redirect resources toward handling other immigration-related applications more efficiently.
However, some humanitarian organisations criticised the move. HIAS, a refugee support group, argued that the policy could force trafficking survivors, abused children and other vulnerable migrants to return to countries they originally fled from in order to complete their Green Card applications.
In August last year, the Trump administration proposed stricter visa duration rules targeting international students, cultural exchange participants and foreign journalists.
Under the proposal, student and exchange visitor visas would generally be limited to a maximum validity period of four years, while visas issued to journalists would be shortened to about 240 days. Chinese journalists could face even shorter durations of about 90 days. Although extensions would still be possible, applicants would be required to seek renewals more frequently.
The administration has also intensified scrutiny of legal immigration pathways by cancelling student visas and Green Cards belonging to some university students over ideological concerns while withdrawing legal protections previously granted to hundreds of thousands of migrants.
According to U.S. State Department figures released in January this year, more than 100,000 visas had been revoked since Trump returned to office.
Beyond policy adjustments, the Trump administration has explored additional ways to reduce immigration into the United States, including attempts to alter long-standing constitutional practices such as birthright citizenship.
Through an executive order, Trump sought to end the automatic citizenship rights traditionally granted to nearly everyone born on U.S. soil under the principle known as birthright citizenship. Although the directive was blocked by a court and is expected to be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, the administration has continued introducing tougher immigration restrictions.
In July 2025, the United States introduced a new visa policy affecting Nigerians applying for non-immigrant visas, including tourist and business travel permits. Under the new system, applicants were limited to single-entry visas valid for only three months, replacing the previous arrangement that allowed multiple-entry visas with validity periods of up to five years, according to the Embassy of the United States, Abuja.
A month earlier, reports indicated that Nigeria was among 36 countries being considered for possible travel restrictions unless concerns relating to security cooperation and diplomatic requirements raised by Washington were addressed.
A recent report by Nairametrics also indicated that the United States has increasingly become one of the most difficult destinations for Nigerians seeking relocation opportunities.
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