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The Trump administration has issued a new guidance memo that could require many immigrants who are seeking a green card – lawful permanent residence in the United States – to leave the country and apply for it from their home nation instead of from within the U.S. The memo gives immigration officers the discretion to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. 

The new guidance could affect hundreds of thousands of people a year, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. Since the turn of the century, about half or more of green cards have gone to people who are already living in the U.S., rather than to new arrivals from abroad.

In the 2024 fiscal year, the U.S. granted a total of about 1.36 million green cards. A majority of them (58%) went to people who were already living in the country. By comparison, 42% went to new immigrant arrivals who applied through U.S. consulates in their home countries.

About this research

This Pew Research Center analysis looks at how immigrants in the United States receive their green cards or permanent residency status. It comes as the Trump administration has issued a new memo that could prevent many applicants from adjusting their immigration status from within the U.S.

Why did we do this?

Pew Research Center does demographic studies, opinion surveys and other research to better understand U.S. immigration, including Americans’ views on immigration. This analysis builds on our previous work on immigration and migration.

How did we do this?

This analysis relies on the Department of Homeland Security’s Yearbook of Immigration Statistics for data about lawful permanent resident admissions. Specifically, we examined annual counts of adjustment of status recipients (processed within the U.S.) and new arrivals (processed in immigrants’ home countries). For each year, we identified the classes of admission and top countries of nationality.

The administration’s new guidance could limit a process known as “adjustment of status” (AOS), which allows immigrants who are already living in the U.S. on a legal temporary basis to become permanent residents without leaving the country.

The administration says the guidance is “returning to the original intent of the law” and would close loopholes in the immigration process. But critics of the memo say it could lead to processing delays, family separations and job losses, as well as limit pathways to legal immigration.

Some groups are more likely than others to be affected

Some immigrant groups are especially likely to be affected by the memo because they’re more likely to adjust their status while already living in the U.S.:

• Nearly all refugees and asylees (more than 99% each) become permanent residents through adjustment of status.
• A majority of employment-based green cards (69% in 2024) are also issued within the U.S. (Many of these applicants first arrive on temporary visas, like H-1B visas, and later transition to a green card without leaving the U.S.)
• Among those seeking permanent resident status, most immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (such as spouses, unmarried children under age 21 and parents) are already in the country. In 2024, 60% of immediate relatives who received green cards did so by adjusting their status within the U.S.

By contrast, some categories of immigrants are mostly processed outside the U.S:

• More than nine-in-ten family-sponsored immigrants – such as adult children or siblings of U.S. citizens who fall outside the immediate relative category – apply from their home countries. Over the last two decades, most family-sponsored immigrants have been new arrivals.
• Diversity visa lottery winners are even more likely to be new arrivals. Nearly all diversity visas are obtained through U.S. consular processing in other countries, a long-standing pattern. In 2024, the share was 97%. (As of December 2025, the State Department has paused new green-card admissions under the diversity visa program.)

Cuba leads green-card approvals through adjustment of status

Many immigrants who adjust their status in the U.S. come from a few countries, a pattern that has changed little over nearly two decades.

In 2024, more immigrants from Cuba than any other country obtained a green card via adjustment of status. Almost nine-in-ten (87%, or more than 155,000 people) became green-card holders this way. This reflects recent migration patterns and Cuba-specific policies – for example, many Cuban parolees and refugees adjusting their status.

Mexico also contributed significantly to AOS green-card approvals in 2024. Some 65% of Mexican immigrants became permanent residents this way. Since 2006, the share has been about 50% or more. A large number of Mexican immigrants apply as immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen – a category that is often processed within the U.S.

China and India also continue to rank among the top countries for AOS green-card approvals. This is largely due to large numbers of immigrants from these countries seeking permanent status through employment-based green cards. In 2024, most Chinese (66%) and Indian (61%) immigrants received their green cards through adjustment of status.

Many people also live in the U.S. on temporary visas

A green card is not the only way immigrants live in the U.S. legally. Millions of people reside in the country on temporary (nonimmigrant) visas – for example, as international students or seasonal or specialized skilled workers. These groups would not be directly impacted by the administration’s new guidance memo.

About 4 in 10 Americans say highly skilled workers should get top priority in legal immigration

Nearly half of Americans say legal immigration into the U.S. should be kept at present levels, according to an August 2024 Pew Research Center survey.

The same survey also asked whether certain groups of immigrants should get top priority, some priority or no priority in immigration decisions. Around four-in-ten Americans (42%) said high-skilled workers such as scientists, doctors, nurses and computer programmers should get top priority for legal immigration. Fewer said this about people who fill labor shortages such as agricultural or childcare workers (25%), people who have close family members in the U.S. (19%), and those from countries not well represented in the U.S. (5%).