Trump is setting his sights on restricting legal immigration

The Department of Homeland Security announced a policy requiring most immigrants seeking green cards to leave the United States while their applications wait for long processing periods. Green cards are for legal permanent residents who have been vetted and are one step from citizenship. The policy prompted immigration attorneys to assess its scope. The announcement followed broader restrictions on travel for immigrants from more than 35 countries, including pausing a visa lottery program, halting long-term immigrant visas from 75 countries, and freezing immigration applications for people already in the United States from countries on a restricted travel list. Additional efforts were reported to make it harder for people who might need public assistance to obtain a green card.

"The Department of Homeland Security announced a policy requiring most immigrants seeking green cards to leave the United States while they wait long periods of time for their applications to be processed. Green cards are granted to legal permanent residents who have been vetted by the government and are one step away from becoming citizens. The policy caused immigration attorneys to scramble to understand the scope of a process that had long avoided being targeted."

"In its wake, however, a new approach is emerging on legal immigration, one that makes it harder for those abroad to enter the United States, and for those already here on a temporary basis to stay. In recent months, Trump administration officials have discussed the legal immigration system as rife with fraud and abuse, and in need of wholesale reform."

"The announcement followed a broader effort to restrict travel for immigrants from more than 35 countries. The Trump administration paused a lottery program that offered more than 50,000 visas internationally. It halted long-term immigrant visas from 75 countries. And it froze immigration applications for those already in the United States from countries on a restricted travel list, making it harder for those nationals to obtain temporary or long-term ways to stay in the country."

Read at Boston.com