.2606041024104.jpg)
If you are living in the United States on a work visa, student visa, or any other nonimmigrant status and were planning to apply for a green card without leaving the country, you need to understand what changed in May 2026 and what it means for your specific situation.
On May 22, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) publicly announced Policy
Memorandum PM-602-0199, titled “Adjustment of Status is a Matter of Discretion and Administrative
Grace, and an Extraordinary Relief that Permits Applicants to Dispense with the Ordinary Consular
Visa Process.” The announcement sent immediate shockwaves through the immigration community in Dallas and across the country. Headlines declared that green cards inside the United States were effectively over. The reality, as is often the case with sweeping policy announcements, is more nuanced — but no less serious.
What the USCIS Policy Memorandum Actually Says
Adjustment of Status, commonly referred to as AOS, is the process that allows eligible individuals already living in the United States to apply for lawful permanent residence — a green card — without having to leave the country and go through an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. consulate abroad. For decades, this process has served as one of the most common and accessible routes to permanent residency for individuals in Dallas and throughout Texas.
PM-602-0199 does not eliminate Adjustment of Status. The law governing who is eligible to apply has not changed. What has changed is how USCIS officers are directed to evaluate each application. The memo instructs officers to treat AOS as an extraordinary discretionary benefit rather than an expected outcome for otherwise eligible applicants. It specifically reminds officers that consular processing abroad — not adjustment from inside the United States — is the standard pathway to permanent residency under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
In practical terms, this means that meeting the legal requirements to file Form I-485 is no longer sufficient on its own. USCIS officers are now directed to weigh both positive and negative factors in each case and to consider whether an applicant’s circumstances genuinely warrant approval inside the United States, or whether that person should instead be directed to complete the process at a U.S. consulate abroad.
What Changed After the Initial Announcement
The days following the May 22 announcement created considerable confusion, and for good reason.
Initial statements from USCIS suggested that most applicants would be required to leave the United States to apply. Within hours, the agency walked back that framing, clarifying that the policy would be implemented on a case-by-case basis and that many applicants would still be able to adjust status from within the country.
As of the date of this article, PM-602-0199 remains in effect. No court has issued an injunction blocking its implementation, and no new guidance has replaced it. What we know is that USCIS officers now have broader authority to exercise discretion in ways they may not have previously, and that the adjudication environment for I-485 applications has shifted in a meaningful way.
Court challenges to this memo are anticipated. The legal and immigration community has identified several potential grounds on which the policy could be challenged, including its retroactive application to pending cases and questions about USCIS’s authority to impose new discretionary standards without formal rulemaking. We are monitoring all developments closely.
Who Is Affected
The memo applies to most individuals seeking Adjustment of Status under Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This includes family-based applicants — spouses, parents, and children of both U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents — as well as employment-based applicants across all preference categories, including EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3. Diversity Visa recipients adjusting status inside the United States are also covered, as are anyone with a currently pending Form I-485.
One group watching this closely is holders of H-1B and L-1 visas. These categories are classified as dual-intent, meaning you can lawfully work temporarily while actively pursuing permanent residency. The memo notes that maintaining lawful dual-intent status is a strong positive factor, meaning these applicants are generally in a safer position than those on single-intent visas. However, dual intent is not an automatic guarantee of approval, and applicants should still ensure their files are robust.
Those on single-intent visas — including F-1 student visas and B-1/B-2 tourist visas — face the most intense scrutiny under this memo. For these individuals, the policy’s logic applies most directly: their pursuit of a green card from inside the United States can now be framed as conduct inconsistent with the original purpose of their admission. If you are in one of these categories with a pending or planned AOS filing, speaking with an immigration attorney promptly is especially important.
Who Is Not Affected
Not every pathway to Adjustment of Status falls under this memo. The policy applies specifically to AOS under Section 245(a). Several categories are considered non-discretionary, meaning USCIS must approve the application if the applicant meets the eligibility requirements. These include refugees, as well as applicants under NACARA (Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act), HRIFA (Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act), and LRIF (Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act).
If you believe you may fall into one of these categories, it is important to confirm your eligibility with an immigration attorney before making any assumptions about how this memo applies to your case.
What This Means for Pending Cases
One of the most alarming aspects of PM-602-0199 is its application to cases that were already filed before the memo was issued. If you submitted a Form I-485 prior to May 2026 and your case is currently pending, this policy applies to your application. USCIS has not provided specific guidance on how pending cases will be evaluated differently, but the heightened discretionary standard is now the operative framework for all active adjudications.
If you have a pending case, do not withdraw your application without first speaking to an immigration attorney. Do not travel internationally without confirming that your advance parole document is valid and current. Changes to your employment, status, or travel history while your case is pending could affect how an officer evaluates your file under this new standard.
What You Should Do Now
The most important step any applicant or prospective applicant can take right now is to get an accurate, individualized assessment of their situation from a qualified immigration attorney. The factors that matter in a discretionary evaluation are highly specific to each person’s history, visa category, family circumstances, employment record, and immigration compliance history.
General guidance that applied before May 2026 may not be sufficient today. Applications that might have proceeded without issue under prior adjudication standards may now require additional documentation demonstrating why approval inside the United States is the appropriate outcome. This is not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to act with intention and with proper legal support.
At the Law Office of Yovanna Vargas, we have been closely monitoring every development related to this policy change since the moment it was announced. Our team understands what this shift means for the families and professionals we serve in Dallas, and we are prepared to help you navigate what comes next.
Whether you have a case already in progress or are planning to file, we are here to review your specific circumstances and walk you through your options. Call us today at (214) 974-3793 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.