US Democrats challenge new green‑card policy change

Democratic members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to USCIS Director Joseph Adel urging the agency to rescind a May‑21 policy memorandum that reinterprets status‑adjustment rules for green‑card applicants. The memo classifies adjustment as “exceptional relief” and prioritizes consular processing abroad, imposing discretionary criteria that lawmakers say were never authorized by Congress.

The senators and representatives argue the change undermines the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, threatens families and skilled workers—including entrepreneurs, researchers and medical professionals—by forcing them to apply from overseas, and could increase backlogs at U.S. embassies. They request answers to nine specific questions about the policy’s implementation, scope and impact, and call for a return to the long‑standing practice of allowing eligible immigrants to adjust status while residing in the United States.