# Trump regime says green card seekers must leave U.S. to apply **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 22, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319 "2026-05-22T20:44:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/1 "2026-05-22T20:44:42Z")
I figured this news was big enough to warrant its own thread. The Trump regime now says that green card seekers must leave the U.S. to apply, which will affect hundreds of thousands of people and lead to untold numbers of family separations. But the cruelty is the point. Gift link from the NYT. [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/us/politics/green-card-changes-trump.html?smid=nytcore-android-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/us/politics/green-card-changes-trump.html?smid=nytcore-android-share) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/2 "2026-05-22T20:52:58Z")
Remember that those applying for permanent residency are, generally, already legally present in the United States. I was thinking that this way they can deny permanent residency to most applicants, and prevent them from returning to America. And in that NYT article, the Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson says that’s the purpose, “When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the U.S. illegally after being denied residency.” ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/3 "2026-05-22T21:17:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Remember that those applying for permanent residency are, generally, already legally present in the United States. I was thinking that this way they can deny permanent residency to most applicants, and prevent them from returning to America. I’m wondering how this is going to work for those who have an H-1B visa. For those who don’t know, an H-1B is an employer sponsored visa and the holder must be employed to have one. Having them exit the United States to apply for permanent residency is impractical. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/4 "2026-05-22T21:25:40Z")
This is insane. I’ve worked with many H1B visa holders and they were nearly without exception people that we should very much want here ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/5 "2026-05-22T21:34:56Z")
Are they white (preferably Northern European white)? If not, I don’t think the current regime wants them, no matter how talented or smart they are. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/6 "2026-05-22T21:36:55Z")
A fair number were white and from Canada,Sweden and the UK. Most were from India and China. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/7 "2026-05-22T22:01:53Z")
H-1B holders don’t need a green card unless they’re applying for permanent residency. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/8 "2026-05-22T22:04:43Z")
Of course. I think many H-1B holders would want the greater freedom (of working at any company and being able to remain in the country indefinitely) of permanent residency. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/9 "2026-05-22T22:43:05Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > H-1B holders don’t need a green card unless they’re applying for permanent residency. We know. That’s literally the point we were making. They previously didn’t have to leave the county to apply. Now they do (or will) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/10 "2026-05-22T23:31:32Z")
If I understand correctly what my husband has told me, when he first applied for a green card (over 50 years ago now) he had to leave the country to do so, and it took a few months. He had been here on an education-type visa, and he had a sponsor (his sister had become a citizen) and everything was in order, but it was standard procedure at that time for green card applicants to apply from their home country and wait there for approval. I don’t know when this changed, but (again, if I am understanding this correctly) there is precedent, and at that time it was not considered punitive. It’s just the way it was. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/11 "2026-05-22T23:50:45Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > H-1B holders don’t need a green card unless they’re applying for permanent residency. I have yet to meet an H-1B holder who did not intend on applying for permanent residency. The problem here is that a lot of H-1B holders won’t be able to work from their home country when they apply for perm residency. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/12 "2026-05-23T00:41:42Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I’m wondering how this is going to work for those who have an H-1B visa. For those who don’t know, an H-1B is an employer sponsored visa and the holder must be employed to have one. Having them exit the United States to apply for permanent residency is impractical As I understand it won’t affect them or people who have green card, this is about the intermediate stage (that can last years, and did in my case) which now has to happen overseas which is insane ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/13 "2026-05-23T01:31:55Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > But the cruelty is the point. As you said, that is the point. This new, definitely illegal, policy also requires refugees from such places as Ukraine and Afghanistan to return there to apply. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/14 "2026-05-23T01:36:36Z")
Someone in another thread quoted that it was against the Immigration and Nationality Act. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/15 "2026-05-23T03:25:37Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > As I understand it won’t affect them or people who have green card, this is about the intermediate stage (that can last years, and did in my case) which now has to happen overseas which is insane Like I posted earlier, I don’t know a single H-1B employee who wasn’t aiming to apply from permanent residency. So under these rules, when we’re ready to apply for perm residency, my employee can’t do so while they’re in the United States. My employee can’t work for me if they’re not in the United States. So unless there is some exception for H-1B visa holders, this is going to make things very, very difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/16 "2026-05-23T03:32:31Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Someone in another thread quoted that it was against the Immigration and Nationality Act. That might have been me over in the cluster thread in The BBQ Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/17 "2026-05-23T10:28:54Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > H-1B holders don’t need a green card unless they’re applying for permanent residency. > [@griffin1977](#): > > As I understand it won’t affect them or people who have green card, this is about the intermediate stage (that can last years, and did in my case) which now has to happen overseas which is insane FYI, the green card is the same thing as a permanent resident card. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/18 "2026-05-23T15:55:08Z")
Do they have to go to their home country, or could they “flagpole” through Canada? This means going to the border, and then immediately returning within minutes. (Just going around the flagpole) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/19 "2026-05-23T16:12:54Z")
Lots of Immigration attorneys gonna make lots of dollars. How do you say “get out” any clearer? Damn. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319/20 "2026-05-23T16:50:29Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > , the green card is the same thing as a permanent resident card Yes but not H1b that is a “temporary” vias (though many people, myself included, are on it for many many years, it’s tied to an employer), a green card is permanent (though still at the mercy of the government, though that didn’t tend to be an issue before Trump) and not tied to employment. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-regime-says-green-card-seekers-must-leave-u-s-to-apply/1030319.md?page=2)