Labor unions, university faculty groups and immigrant rights advocates have sued the Trump administration over two immigration policies they say could make it harder for eligible immigrants already living in the United States to obtain green cards without leaving the country.
The plaintiffs argue that the measures could put applicants at greater risk of rejection, including people whose green card applications were already pending when the policies took effect. The administration has defended the changes. The lawsuit concerns adjustment of status, a process that allows eligible immigrants already in the US to apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the country to complete immigrant visa processing at a US embassy or consulate abroad. The second policy, issued in August, gives officers broader authority to deny certain applications without first requesting additional evidence or notifying applicants of an intended denial. Her application remained pending when the lawsuit was filed.
The lawsuit, filed on October 5 in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenges two policies introduced by US Citizenship and Immigration Services ( USCIS ) in May and August 2026. Under a USCIS policy issued on May 21, 2026, officers are directed to consider an applicant’s decision to seek a green card from within the US rather than through consular processing abroad as a negative discretionary factor. Another applicant, who has lived in the US for about 26 years and has three US citizen children, was questioned during an interview about why she was seeking adjustment of status domestically rather than applying through a consulate .
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler called the lawsuit a “frivolous attempt to disrupt the Trump administration’s commitment to enforce our country’s immigration laws as intended by Congress”, according to Newsweek . The policy applies to new applications as well as cases that were pending when it took effect, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs argue that applicants who filed under the earlier approach could now face decisions under new standards without being given an opportunity to address the concerns raised by immigration officers.
