Nigerian families, students and professionals in the United States are among those facing anxiety after President Donald Trump’s administration ordered most Green Card applicants to return to their home countries to complete their applications.
The policy, announced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has caused confusion among immigrants and lawyers, with many applicants now unsure whether their families, jobs and studies could be disrupted.
Under the directive, most foreign nationals seeking permanent residency will no longer be allowed to wait in America while their applications are processed. They will instead have to complete the process through U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
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USCIS said only applicants facing “extraordinary circumstances” may still be allowed to apply from within the United States through adjustment of status. That process has for years allowed eligible immigrants already living in America to seek permanent residency without travelling out of the country.
A Green Card, officially known as a Permanent Resident Card, gives non-U.S. citizens the legal right to live and work permanently in America. It is also one of the major routes to becoming a U.S. citizen.
The announcement has left many families asking urgent questions. For those married to U.S. citizens, the fear is not just paperwork. It is the possibility of being separated from a spouse or children while waiting for a decision that could take months or even years.
Nigerians may feel the impact strongly because many are already part of America’s skilled workforce, studying in universities, working in hospitals, technology firms, schools, businesses and other sectors.
The directive is expected to affect foreign students, temporary workers, spouses of U.S. citizens and people on legal visas who are seeking permanent residency. Lawyers handling such cases say many of those affected entered the U.S. lawfully and have followed existing immigration procedures.
Defending the decision, USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said the policy was designed to make the system work as intended and reduce abuse.
“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes,” Kahler said.
He said requiring applicants to process their residency requests outside the U.S. would reduce cases of people remaining in the country illegally after their applications are denied.
But critics say the move could punish people who are already obeying the law.
They argue that many applicants have families, jobs, homes and community ties in America. Sending them away during the process, they say, could create hardship for people who are not trying to enter the country illegally but are already seeking a lawful path to permanent residency.
The scale of the change is significant. About 1.4 million Green Cards were issued in 2024, with more than 820,000 granted to immigrants already living in the United States through adjustment of status.
That means a large share of applicants who previously completed the process without leaving America could now face a very different route.
For Nigerian families, the concern is immediate. A Nigerian married to a U.S. citizen, for example, may now worry about being asked to return to Nigeria and wait while the application is reviewed. If the process is delayed, spouses and children could be left apart for a long period.
Sarah Pierce, a former policy analyst at USCIS, warned that the U.S. consular processing system is already under pressure. Lawyers also fear U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, including those handling Nigerian applicants, could face longer queues if many cases are moved out of America.
The Nigeria link is important. According to data cited from the Migration Policy Institute, about 2.5 million sub-Saharan African immigrants lived in the U.S. in 2024. More than half of them came from five countries — Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. Nigerian immigrants also recorded a 143 percent increase between 2010 and 2024.
This makes Nigerians one of the African communities likely to watch the policy closely.
The lack of clarity around “extraordinary circumstances” has added to the concern. USCIS has not clearly explained who will qualify for exemptions. This has left applicants unsure whether students, skilled workers, spouses or people with pending cases will be protected.
The policy may also face legal challenges as families, employers and immigrant rights groups seek clarity on how it will be enforced.
For now, many immigrants are waiting for clearer guidance from USCIS. For Nigerians in the U.S., the question is simple but serious: whether their journey towards permanent residency can continue without tearing families apart or putting careers and studies at risk.
