U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday, May 22, 2026, a new directive requiring foreign nationals with temporary visas to apply for permanent residency from their home countries. The federal government implemented this measure to eliminate the widespread option of adjusting status within the United States.
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler stated that temporary stays for students, workers, and tourists should not be considered the first step toward obtaining permanent residency. The immigration authority views adjustment of status as a discretionary benefit that officials can deny without mandatory explanation. Applicants must demonstrate extraordinary circumstances to receive approval without leaving the country.
Legal vulnerability for Colombian citizens
On January 21, 2026, the State Department temporarily suspended the issuance of immigrant visas at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota due to high public charge rates. This combination of measures has created a standstill in the process of regularizing Colombian immigration status, preventing Colombian applicants from adjusting their status within the country or obtaining immigrant visas abroad.
Immigration officials will conduct rigorous screenings of Colombian university students holding F-1 visas. Agency adjudicators will investigate whether the individual planned to emigrate before applying for their original visa. A determination of immigration fraud will result in the immediate denial of the application and deportation from the United States.
Lawyers and civil rights groups sue USCIS in federal courts
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and several civil rights groups announced they will file lawsuits in federal court. The plaintiffs contend that USCIS is exceeding its executive authority by unilaterally modifying Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which Congress passed. The humanitarian organization HIAS also warned that the rule will leave minors and trafficking victims unprotected.
Federal courts will have to decide on the legality of the new regulations, according to estimates from the plaintiffs themselves, in the coming weeks.
The loss of skilled professionals in the United States
Canada and the European Union will attract technology and healthcare graduates that the United States is unable to retain due to the new restrictions. US corporations will see increased legal costs and longer recruitment times for key personnel.
The additional volume of applications will overwhelm State Department consulates abroad. Applicants already wait several months for consular appointments, and these waits will increase to years under the new system. According to the plaintiffs, closed diplomatic missions such as the Kabul office in Afghanistan will prevent people from conflict zones from regularizing their immigration status entirely.
Official statistics of the Colombian diaspora
The Department of Homeland Security grants between 15,000 and 17,000 green cards annually to Colombian citizens, 89% of them through family reunification. Sponsored employment accounts for 8% of applications, while humanitarian cases make up the remaining 3%.
The new regulations alter the immediate future of the more than 8,000 Colombian students studying at U.S. institutions of higher education. This student population loses the option of obtaining permanent residency in the United States upon graduation. The Colombian diaspora, which, according to the Department of Homeland Security, numbers nearly one million people in the United States, will experience an increase in cases of family separation, according to civil rights organizations.