United States President, Donald Trump, has announced a new immigration directive requiring Nigerians and other foreign nationals seeking green cards to return to their home countries to complete their applications, except under extraordinary circumstances.
The new policy was disclosed on Friday by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
In a statement, USCIS said the directive was introduced to restore what it described as the “original intent” of America’s immigration laws.
Under the policy, foreigners seeking adjustment of status in the United States will now be expected to process their residency applications through US consular offices in their home countries under the supervision of the US Department of State.
USCIS stated, “We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly. From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances.”
USCIS spokesman, Zach Kahler, said the move would reduce cases of migrants remaining illegally in the US after unsuccessful residency applications.
“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes. 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,” Kahler said.
According to USCIS, the policy will mainly affect temporary visitors, including students, tourists and workers admitted into the US on nonimmigrant visas.
“Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process,” the agency added.
USCIS also said processing residency applications through consular offices abroad would allow the agency to focus more resources on other immigration matters.
The agency noted that it would have more capacity to handle applications involving victims of violent crimes, human trafficking cases, naturalisation requests and other immigration-related services.
“The law was written this way for a reason, and despite the fact that it has been ignored for years, following it will help make our system fairer and more efficient,” the statement said.
The latest directive comes months after Trump, in December 2025, temporarily suspended the processing of green card and citizenship applications filed by Nigerians and nationals of other countries recently added to the US travel ban, according to CBS News.
The suspension affected legal immigration applications managed by USCIS and largely targeted immigrants from some African and Asian countries.
