USCIS Adjustment of Status Policy Changes and How it Affects Long Term Residents

A New Green Card Warning for People Who Have Lived Here for Years

What USCIS’s New Policy Means for You, Your Family, and Your Future

By Robert A. Ratliff, Brennan, Manna and Diamond, LLC
May 26, 2026

Something Important Just Changed

On May 21, 2026, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memorandum. The memorandum is numbered PM-602-0199. Its full title is long and technical, but its message is simple and serious: getting a green card while staying inside the United States just became much harder.

This article is written for people who came to the United States years ago, who have built lives here, and who may be wondering what this new policy means for them. You may have overstayed a visa. You may have worked without authorization. You may have entered on a tourist visa and never left. If any of that describes your situation, please read this article carefully and please speak with an immigration attorney before you do anything.

What Is Adjustment of Status?

When someone wants to become a lawful permanent resident, there are two main ways to do it. The first way is called consular processing. That means leaving the United States, going to a U.S. consulate in another country, and applying for an immigrant visa from abroad. The second way is called adjustment of status. That means staying inside the United States and applying for a green card here, without leaving.

For many people who have been living here for years, adjustment of status has been the preferred option. It means not having to leave your family, your job, or your home while you wait for a decision. It means staying in the country you have built your life in.

The new USCIS policy memorandum changes how hard it is to get that approval.

What the New Policy Says

The memorandum reminds USCIS officers that adjustment of status is, in the words of a long line of court decisions, an act of extraordinary administrative grace. That phrase comes from a 1974 case called Matter of Blas, 15 I&N Dec. 626, and it has been used by courts ever since to describe adjustment of status as something unusual, not something automatic.

What that means in plain language is this: even if you qualify for a green card under the law, USCIS is now saying that officers should look much more carefully before approving your case. Meeting the legal requirements is not enough by itself. You must also convince USCIS that approving your case is in the best interest of the United States.

The memorandum specifically lists things that USCIS will treat as negative factors. Those things include overstaying a visa, working without authorization, failing to maintain your immigration status, and trying to get a green card here instead of going through the normal process of applying from outside the country.

What This Means If You Have Overstayed or Worked Without Papers

If you have been in the United States beyond the date your visa allowed, or if you have worked without proper work authorization, the new policy treats those facts as serious problems that work against your green card application. USCIS officers are now told to weigh those negative facts carefully.

The memorandum says that simply not having any major problems is not enough. The absence of bad facts does not prove that your case is exceptional. You must show what the law calls unusual or even outstanding equities. That means you must give USCIS strong, positive reasons why your case deserves approval. Things like deep family ties to the United States, medical hardship, long-term community contributions, and good moral character all matter. But they must be documented, real, and compelling.

The Most Important Warning in This Article: Do Not Leave the United States

If you have been in the United States without legal status, or if your visa expired a long time ago, leaving the country can make your situation dramatically worse. This is not obvious, and many people do not know it until it is too late.

The law creates what are called unlawful presence bars. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 212(a)(9)(B), if you have been unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days and you then leave, you are barred from returning for three years. If you have been unlawfully present for one year or more and you leave, you are barred from returning for ten years.

That bar is triggered the moment you depart. It does not matter why you left. It does not matter if you had a plane ticket back. It does not matter if your family is here. Once you leave, the bar begins.

This is why you must speak with an immigration attorney before you travel anywhere outside the United States. A single trip to visit family, attend a funeral, or take a vacation could result in you being separated from your family in the United States for three years or ten years, with no guarantee you can ever return.

What About Applying for a Waiver?

There is a form called the I-601A, which is a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence bar. It allows certain people to apply for a waiver before they leave the United States. If the waiver is approved, they can depart, attend a visa interview at a U.S. consulate abroad, and return to the United States as a lawful permanent resident.

However, the I-601A is not available to everyone. It is mainly available to people who are the spouse, parent, or child of a U.S. citizen, and who can prove that their qualifying relative would suffer extreme hardship if the applicant is not allowed to return. That standard is high. Normal emotional pain from separation does not meet it. You need documented medical, financial, psychological, or other serious hardship affecting your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member.

Even if you qualify, the processing time for the I-601A waiver is currently running approximately 26 to 30 months just for USCIS to make a decision. After that, there is additional time for the consulate process. The realistic total timeline from filing to returning with a green card is three to five years in most cases, and that entire time, you would be outside the United States.

If the waiver is denied, there is no appeal. You must refile from scratch.

What You Should Do Right Now

If you have an immigration issue of any kind, the most important thing you can do right now is speak with a qualified immigration attorney. Do not rely on advice from friends, neighbors, or non-attorney immigration consultants. The stakes are too high.

There are things an attorney can help you understand that are specific to your situation. Your length of stay, how you entered, whether you have a qualifying family member, whether you have any criminal history, what type of visa you had, and many other facts all affect what options are available to you.

You should also know that this policy is new and is expected to face legal challenges in court. Advocacy organizations, immigration lawyers, and affected communities are already analyzing whether this memorandum can be challenged under the Administrative Procedure Act and other legal theories. The law in this area may change. Courts may issue rulings that limit how USCIS can apply this policy. That is another reason to stay in contact with an attorney who can advise you as the situation develops.

A Word About What Has Not Changed

The new memorandum does not eliminate adjustment of status. You can still file an application. The basic eligibility rules under the law have not changed. What has changed is how seriously USCIS will scrutinize discretionary factors, and how much harder it will be to get approved if there are negative facts in your history.

There are also categories of people who are protected regardless of this policy. Certain survivors of domestic violence who qualify as VAWA self-petitioners have special protections. Certain refugees and asylees have non-discretionary adjustment rights. If you fall into one of those categories, this memorandum may not affect you the same way it affects others.

The bottom line is this: if you have questions about your immigration status, now is the time to get answers. The law is changing, the stakes are high, and the cost of waiting could be your ability to remain in the country you have called home for years.

About the Author

Robert A. Ratliff is an immigration attorney at Brennan, Manna and Diamond, LLC, located at 200 Public Square, Suite 1850, Cleveland, Ohio 44114. He may be reached by telephone at 216-658-2155 or by email at immigration@bmdllc.com. His firm website is www.removal-defense.com. Mr. Ratliff is the author of The Pro Se Immigration Law Library, available on Amazon. He also hosts The Immigration Podcast on Spotify, where he discusses immigration law developments in plain language for a broad audience.

Cross-Reference: Related Articles in This Series

This article is one of four in a series analyzing USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 (May 21, 2026). The other articles in this series address: (1) individuals on H-1B and other nonimmigrant visas navigating the green card process; (2) general employers who sponsor foreign national workers; and (3) healthcare and nonprofit employers that depend on the H-1B to employment-based immigrant visa pipeline for physicians, scientists, and other specialized workers. All four articles are available at www.removal-defense.com.

Disclaimer

This article is intended for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration law is highly fact-specific, and the consequences of immigration decisions are often severe and permanent. The legal landscape described in this article is rapidly evolving. Litigation challenging USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 is anticipated, and courts, Congress, or further agency guidance may alter the analysis described here in significant ways. Readers should not act or refrain from acting based on this article without first consulting a qualified immigration attorney regarding their specific circumstances. For a confidential consultation, contact Brennan, Manna and Diamond, LLC at 216-658-2155 or immigration@bmdllc.com.