New obstacles to cards in the US are coming up. The Trump administration is telling people who have visas to go back home.
Washington: The Trump administration has come up with immigration policies that are causing problems for millions of foreigners who are living in the US on temporary visas. The administration says that people who have visas and want to get a green card or permanent residence permit may have to go back to their own countries to apply for it.
The administration says they are doing this to make the US immigration system more transparent and fair.. People who are fighting for immigrant rights say this new policy will cause a lot of uncertainty and risk for many people.
Why is this change happening now?
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a guideline that says people do not have the right to automatically get a green card from within the US. Each application will be looked at individually.
Immigration officials say that some people were coming to the US on visas and then applying for permanent residence. The administration thinks that many of these people were using the immigration system in ways that were not intended.
So now the officials will look closely at the applicants visa history whether they stayed legally and what they said they were coming to the US for.
What kind of issues will they investigate?
The new guidelines say that immigration officials will look at things like.
- Whether the person broke the rules of their visa
- Whether they stayed in the US longer than they were supposed to
- Whether they worked without permission
- Whether they. Gave false information
- Whether they did what they said they would do when they entered the US
The USCIS says each application will be looked at on its own.
Is this rule the same for everyone?
No. The administration says this is not a one-size-fits-all decision.
Some types of visas allow people to have intentions. This means that people with these visas can stay in the US temporarily and also plan to live permanently.
The USCIS has made it clear that having dual intent does not mean you will get a green card. Each application will still be reviewed carefully.
Many immigrants are getting worried.
After this announcement many foreign students, professionals and people with visas are getting concerned. They are worried that if they go back to their home country their application might get delayed.
Some people come from countries that're not safe and going back home can be a big problem for them.
Human rights organizations are criticizing this policy.
These organizations say that people who are victims of trafficking, abused children and people who are refugees might be affected the most.
One organization, HIAS is warning that many people might have to go to countries where they will not be safe.
This is part of the Trump administrations plan to change immigration policies.
Analysts say that this move is another step in the Trump administrations plan to make immigration policies stricter. Donald Trump has always said that he wants to make border security stronger and limit the number of people who can live in the US term.
What will happen next?
Immigration law experts think that the impact of this policy will depend on how it is implemented. If the officials enforce the rules strictly many people, with visas might have to change their plans.
The administration says that this policy will make the US immigration system more orderly and fair and will free up resources to deal with immigration cases.
