(UNITED STATES) — U.S. officials outlined a policy shift that would require many temporary visa holders seeking permanent residence to leave the United States and pursue consular processing in their home country, a change that would hit people already waiting in a green-card backlog of about 700,000.

The approach would move many applicants away from completing the final stage of the green-card process inside the United States. Instead, they would have to seek immigrant visas abroad, following a route the U.S. government says is generally the normal path for people applying from outside the country.

USCIS said it would allow adjustment of status only in “extraordinary circumstances,” with officers deciding cases one by one. That would narrow a pathway that many applicants inside the country have relied on while waiting for permanent residence.

The backlog described with the policy includes roughly 540,000 family-based applicants and around 170,000 employment-based applicants. Those figures place both families and workers inside the same queue, but their cases can unfold under different timelines and through different sponsoring relationships.

Consular processing carries its own set of steps. Applicants outside the United States must file an immigrant petition, complete the visa application, attend in-person appointments, and pay processing fees.

Each of those steps can bring added strain for people who have already built lives in the United States while holding temporary status. Travel is one hurdle. Time away from spouses, children, or employers is another.

The shift also raises a practical problem for applicants who are already in line for green cards and expected to complete the process without leaving the country. Critics say the policy can create a “Catch-22” if someone is told to depart the United States but immigrant visas are not processed promptly in the home country.

That problem sits at the center of the backlog. A person can follow the instruction to leave, yet still face a delay in securing an interview slot or visa issuance abroad. In the meantime, families can remain split across borders and work arrangements can remain unsettled.

Family-based applicants make up the larger share of the backlog, at about 540,000. In those cases, the requirement to leave the United States for consular processing can affect more than the principal applicant, because the move can separate households while an interview and final decision remain pending.

Employment-based applicants, estimated at around 170,000, face a different kind of pressure. Their immigration path often ties directly to a job, and travel abroad for final processing can collide with work schedules, business needs, and uncertainty over when a visa will be issued.

Adjustment of status and consular processing lead to the same goal, but the routes differ sharply in practice. Adjustment of status lets an eligible applicant seek permanent residence from within the United States, while consular processing requires the person to complete the immigrant visa stage abroad through a U.S. consulate.

Under the approach USCIS described, adjustment of status would no longer be broadly available to many people already in the country on temporary visas. Officers would decide whether a case presents “extraordinary circumstances”, a standard that leaves the outcome tied to individual review rather than a general rule allowing applicants to remain in the United States during the final stage.

That case-by-case structure can shape decisions long before an interview date appears. Applicants may have to weigh whether to leave jobs, arrange child care, plan international travel, and prepare for a period abroad without knowing how quickly a consulate will move.

Consular processing also involves basic logistical demands that do not arise in the same way for applicants who can finish the process inside the country. A person must appear in person, complete the visa application, and cover processing fees, all while managing travel and waiting periods.

Those demands can fall unevenly across the backlog. A family-based case may involve separation from a spouse or children already living in the United States. An employment-based case may require coordination with an employer while the worker waits for an interview and then visa issuance in the home country.

The government’s position that consular processing is generally the normal route for applicants from abroad does not remove the strain on people who are already here. The proposed change would reach individuals who entered on temporary visas and then sought to become permanent residents without returning home for final processing.

That distinction explains why the backlog matters. People applying from abroad generally begin with the expectation that they will use a consulate, but many temporary visa holders already inside the United States have structured their lives around staying put while pursuing permanent residence.

Once the process shifts overseas, timing becomes harder to predict in day-to-day terms. Travel must be arranged. Appointments must be secured. Visa issuance still comes only after those steps are complete.

Applicants would also need to watch closely for policy details and guidance from USCIS and from U.S. consulates. The broad outline is clear: many applicants would have to leave the country and use consular processing, while adjustment of status would survive only for cases that officers treat as “extraordinary circumstances.”

For people inside a backlog of about 700,000, that outline leaves little room for error. Roughly 540,000 family-based applicants and around 170,000 employment-based applicants could find that the last stage of the green-card process no longer happens where they live, work, and wait, but in the home country they would have to return to before a visa can be issued.