LWVUS joined letter to USCIS regarding the recent adjustment of status policy announcements.
July 6, 2026
Joseph Edlow
Director
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
5900 Capital Gateway Drive
Camp Springs, MD 20588
RE: Rescind Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 Restricting Access to Adjustment of Status
Dear Director Edlow:
We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our deep concern regarding U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, “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,” issued on May 21, 2026. We urge USCIS to immediately rescind this memorandum and reaffirm adjustment of status (AOS) as a critical and Congressionally authorized pathway for eligible immigrants seeking lawful permanent residence from within the United States.
For more than 70 years, AOS has served as a foundational component of the U.S. immigration system. In establishing this pathway, Congress recognized the need to allow eligible immigrants already present in the United States to obtain green cards without the unnecessary disruption and prolonged family separation that accompany departing for consular processing in their countries of origin. The memorandum’s framing of adjustment of status as an “extraordinary” form of relief undermines Congress’s intent as well as the plain statutory meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In addition, the memorandum drastically departs from longstanding agency practice. Although adjustment of status has always involved discretionary agency review, this memorandum’s misguided interpretation of AOS as an exceptional recourse disregards decades of policy. In fact, since 1980, over half of all legal permanent residents adjusted status within the United States, including nearly 800,000 individuals in Fiscal Year 2024 alone.
This memorandum is not only legally flawed but also leaves open many questions about the implementation and scope of this policy change. Subsequent statements from administration officials have only created further confusion, heightening the fear and uncertainty already facing millions of immigrants and their families.
What is abundantly clear is that the consequences of this memorandum will be severe and far-reaching. Broadly read, this memorandum appears to apply to all adjustments that take place under section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, including most family-based and employment-based AOS applications. And while USCIS has indicated to the media that AOS will remain unchanged for certain applicants who “provide an economic benefit or otherwise are in the national interest,” we worry that the administration believes it can discriminatorily select who deserves access to the regular processes of our immigration system in violation of long-held American principles of equal protection under the law.
The memorandum appears to establish consular processing abroad as the preferred avenue for obtaining permanent residence. Yet consular processing often proves vexing and cumbersome, frequently taking months, if not years. A substantial expansion of immigrant visa processing for the Department of State will only exacerbate existing consular processing delays and disarray. As a result, if applicants are effectively pushed toward overseas consular processing, families will inevitably face prolonged separation. Applicants will also risk employment disruption, loss of employment authorization, and exposure to reentry bars.
Moreover, certain individuals will likely be disproportionately affected by this upheaval of long-settled policy, including but not limited to:
- Populations who have historically relied heavily on family-based immigration pathways, including Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, who, in recent years, have made up between 25 and 42 percent of all adjustments;
- Undocumented individuals, including many from communities of color, who have previously been able to utilize AOS in certain circumstances;
- Individuals seeking adjustment who were previously paroled into the U.S., such as Afghan and Ukrainian parolees and DACA recipients who previously traveled on advance parole;
- Applicants who cannot safely or realistically pursue immigrant visas abroad, especially those from countries with limited consular capacity, political instability, ongoing conflict, or discriminatory conditions.
Adjustment of status has long served as a critical mechanism for promoting family unity and stability within the United States immigration system, and was specifically established to allow families to remain together during the application process. Rather than creating new and unwarranted obstacles for immigrants, USCIS should prioritize fair, transparent, and efficient adjustment of status adjudications consistent with Congressional intent. Policies that undermine access to this pathway threaten families, communities, and faith in our immigration system. Furthermore, we are concerned about how this change, alongside many other shifts in immigration policy, reflects a concerted effort to quietly eliminate most forms of immigration to the U.S. This broad attack on existing immigration pathways is deeply harmful to our country and violates both the letter and spirit of our immigration laws.
We urge USCIS to immediately rescind Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199, roll back other changes that have unnecessarily hindered immigration to the U.S., and reaffirm that adjustment of status remains a viable and accessible pathway for permanent residency.
Sincerely,
National Organizations