US Changes Permanent Residency Process For 2 Categories Of Applicants Eyeing Green Cards
- The US government announced a revision to visa availability procedures, but only two categories of green card applicants are affected
- Applicants waiting to file for employment-based or family-sponsored preference adjustment of status are the ones directly impacted by the change
- The revised process is meant to align the way visa availability is checked for people applying inside the US with how it is done at embassies abroad
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The United States government has revised part of its permanent residency process, but the change does not apply to all green card applicants.
Only those waiting to file for employment-based or family-sponsored preference adjustment of status are affected.
Source: UGC
The announcement appears on the US Department of State's Visa Bulletin page for November 2026, which states that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), working in coordination with the Department of State, is revising the procedures for determining visa availability for this specific group of applicants.
Who Is Affected by the Change
To understand what this means, it helps to know the difference between two ways of applying for a green card.
Adjustment of status is when someone already living inside the United States applies for a green card without leaving the country.
Consular processing, on the other hand, is when a person applies for a green card from outside the US, typically by attending an interview at an American embassy or consulate in their home country.
The revision affects people in the adjustment of status category who are still waiting to file, meaning those who have not yet submitted their application because a visa number is not yet available to them.
Specifically, this covers those in employment-based preference categories and family-sponsored preference categories.
This change does not apply to everyone pursuing a green card. People who are already going through consular processing, those who have already filed their adjustment of status application, and anyone outside these two preference categories are not affected by this revision.
The Goal: Aligning Two Separate Systems
According to the State Department page, the revised process will better align with the procedures the Department of State already uses for foreign nationals who seek to become US permanent residents by applying for immigrant visas at American consulates and embassies abroad.
In plain terms, the government wants the way it checks whether a visa number is available to be the same whether a person is applying from inside the US or from outside it.
Currently, the two systems handle this check differently, and the revision is intended to close that gap.
The State Department page does not list the full new procedures, only that they are being revised.
The November 2026 Visa Bulletin links to a USCIS announcement titled "USCIS Announces Revised Procedures for Determining Visa Availability for Applicants Waiting to File for Adjustment of Status" for further details.
US announces 1 green card route
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that US government's EB-1 visa category covers three types of applicants, but only one allows individuals to file their own petition without employer involvement.
Applicants under the Extraordinary Ability category must satisfy at least 3 of 10 set criteria, or present evidence of a major internationally recognised achievement.
Source: Legit.ng
