Business Insider reports:

President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown is triggering alarm, confusion, and fierce debate among lawyers, advocates, and many in the business world who rely on visa holders for skilled labor.

On Friday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it would grant “adjustment of status” — the process that allows some immigrants already in the US to apply for a green card without leaving the country — “only in extraordinary circumstances,” potentially forcing many applicants to return to their home countries and wait abroad while their cases are processed.

While a USCIS spokesperson told Business Insider that applicants who “provide an economic benefit or otherwise are in the national interest” may still qualify for exemptions, it remains unclear how broadly the administration plans to enforce the new restrictions or how many immigrants could ultimately be affected.

The administration has framed the move as a return to the original intent of immigration law, while critics warn it could upend the lives of foreign workers, mixed-status families, and long-term visa holders who have relied on the process for decades. [Continue reading…]

When you put ICE agents in charge of legal immigration, this is what you get. A terrible system made even more horrific by total malice against the applicants. USCIS desperately needs new leadership that cares about doing its job. https://t.co/BJRuSfl8tI

— David J. Bier (@David_J_Bier) May 22, 2026

Point blank, this policy is a disgrace. It will rip talented, hardworking immigrants out from America and our economy, congest an already overburdened backlog, and further break an already broken immigration system.

And that’s by design.

This administration has made the pain of… https://t.co/12z6ZOpyT0

— Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (@RepYvetteClarke) May 22, 2026

Does this mean AI Researchers, employees, and students will now have to leave the country and wait through a backlog process to continue their work?

Harmful move for tech, business, and America broadly… https://t.co/bfumkDCjJK

— Reid Hoffman (@reidhoffman) May 22, 2026

The new White House policy requiring green card applicants to apply from outside the US is a capricious attack on legal immigration. It will hurt families, leave us with fewer doctors, teachers and scientists, and hurt American competitiveness in AI.

— Andrew Ng (@AndrewYNg) May 22, 2026

The biggest bullshit move by DHS in its history. So everyone on a O1 or H1B visa would have to stop working legally in the US, go back to their country and wait for years of backlog? This includes top scientists in our universities, founders of billion dollar companies (at least… https://t.co/Q427R67ZYq

— Nick Davidov (@Nick_Davidov) May 22, 2026