Green Card Data Sheds Light on How DHS Change Could Impact Immigrants
More than half of new green cards issued in recent years have gone to immigrants already living in the United States, a trend that could shift under the Trump administration’s new policy, according to a new analysis.
Pew Research Center examined the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) own data on green card issuances, which showed that the new policy granting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) greater authority to ask applicants to return to their home country for processing would affect hundreds of thousands of people.
The analysis of fiscal year 2024 data, the latest available, showed that around 1.36 million green cards were issued, with around 58 percent going to those already living in the U.S., often relatives of American citizens or individuals in the country on work visas.
"The majority of people who have received green cards are already living in the U.S.,” Sahana Mukherjee, the associate director of race and ethnicity research at Pew, told Newsweek. “The May 22 USCIS memo reinforces how adjustment of status (AOS) has long been discretionary. If more applicants are directed to consular processing in their home countries, rather than adjusting status here, that could affect a large share of cases.”
Confusion Over Green Card Changes
While DHS’s initial sweeping policy change was reported to have been walked back somewhat, attorneys, applicants, and experts continue to have questions about who will be forced to leave the U.S. to obtain their permanent residency.
"The agency has not provided updated public guidance about this alleged ‘walk back,'” Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, the senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), told Newsweek in a statement. “Sharing information piecemeal about how a policy will be implemented via press, particularly those behind pay walls, is antithetical to good government and transparency.”
“Stakeholders continue to be confused and dubious of the government's claims. Until we have official word, we remain concerned and extremely cautious,” Dalal-Dheini said.
Attorneys have reported a variety of approaches by USCIS officers, with some applicants asked why they have not returned home to apply or warned that their applications could be denied. Others have reported no change.
“My concern is that applicants' experience will depend on what type of application they filed (employment or family-based), where it's being handled, and who the officer is,” Elissa Taub, a partner at Siskind and Susser immigration law firm in Tennessee, previously told Newsweek. “Because USCIS officers are anonymous, unless there is an interview, we often do not know where our clients' cases are being handled or who is handling them.”
Which Immigrants Use Adjustment of Status?
Pew gathered the most recent data released by DHS under the Biden administration, showing that USCIS issued 1,356,760 green cards between October 2023 and September 2024. Of those, 782,770 were granted through AOS rather than to those newly arriving in the U.S.
By the nature of their immigration status, asylum-seekers and refugees see over 99 percent of their green cards issued while living in the U.S. By contrast, family-sponsored and diversity applicants mostly see their green cards issued in their home countries.
The Trump administration’s policy shift has largely caused confusion for two other large categories: those applying connected to their work visas, such as the H-1B, and immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, including spouses and unmarried children. Both of these categories see more than 60 percent of applications processed through AOS.
The data showed that in 2024, Cubans accounted for the largest share of AOS beneficiaries, with 155,630 green cards, or 87 percent, issued this way.
Other nationalities with large percentages of AOS green cards, compared to those issued in their home countries, were Mexicans, Venezuelans, Chinese, and Brazilians. Pew said that many Mexicans apply as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which traditionally has meant that cases are processed within the U.S.
One concern raised in the wake of USCIS’s announcement has been how long immigrants who have long been living and working in the U.S. would be expected to wait in their home countries, should the government choose to require consulate-based approvals more regularly.
Rise in Adjustment of Status Green Cards
The Trump administration has insisted in its reasoning for the change that it is enforcing existing immigration law, which requires green card applicants to apply from their home country.
Critics of the change have pointed to the decades-long AOS practice of allowing many individuals already living and working in the country to remain, to avoid disrupting their lives. Since the year 2000, more than half of applicants each year have used AOS.
The share of AOS compared to new-arrival green cards has steadily shifted, and in FY 2024, the split was 58 percent versus 42 percent.
Pew and other groups have suggested that USCIS’s policy could now limit the ability to use AOS.
When asked how the discretionary approach would be monitored, a DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that the updated policy will not prevent immigrants from obtaining green cards if they “legitimately and properly” qualify. They also reiterated that this was an effort to comply with immigration law.
"The law hasn’t changed and USCIS can’t rewrite our immigration laws with the stroke of a pen,” Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council, told Newsweek.
“Adjustment of status is a lawful, long-standing pathway to a green card, but this administration is creating fear and uncertainty around even legitimate routes to permanent residence. USCIS has tried to walk back some of the alarm around this memo, but without formal guidance, people will still be left guessing about how it will be applied and who will be most affected."
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 4:49 PM.