Trump administration clarifies new green card policy

The Department of Homeland Security clarified the immigration policy it announced on Friday, suggesting that current H1B visa holders could be able to “continue on their current path.”

The Trump administration’s new directive called for requiring most people seeking green cards to apply for permanent residency from outside the US, a shift that could impact millions of workers, including high-skilled tech industry employees and spouses of US citizens.

A spokesperson for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, however, told Semafor that H1-B visa holders and high-skilled workers might not be affected in the near term.

The agency is “is merely restating and reasserting” its reading of congressional intent regarding immigration status changes, the USCIS spokesperson said.

“While we work to operationalize this, people who present applications that provide an economic benefit or otherwise are in the national interest will likely be able to continue on their current path while others may be asked to apply abroad depending on individualized circumstances,” the spokesperson added.

The administration’s policy shift, which sets up potentially years-long delays for applicants, will face legal challenges: “You can’t, through a stroke of a pen, overturn a statute,” attorney Todd Pomerleau told ABC News. “It’s illegal, and it’s going to get shut down in court.”

The announcement ricocheted through the tech industry, with critics arguing it could disrupt scientists and AI startups if H1-B holders and other high-skilled visa holders were affected.

“Harmful move for tech, business, and America broadly,” LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman wrote.

Officials said the “policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes.”