Some H-1B visa holders may not need to leave US to apply for green card: Report

The United States immigration authorities have clarified that some H‑1B visa holders may not have to leave the country to apply for a green card in specific circumstances, Newsweek reported on Sunday.

A green card, officially known as a Permanent Resident Card, allows an individual to stay and work permanently in the US.

Zach Kahler, the spokesperson for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, told the magazine that “people who present applications that provide an economic benefit or otherwise are in the national interest will likely be able to continue on their current path”.

The others “may be asked to apply abroad depending on individualised circumstances”, Kahler was quoted as having added.

The clarification came two days after the Donald Trump administration announced on Friday that persons seeking a green card to remain in the US permanently must apply for it from their home countries “except in extraordinary circumstances”.

The authorities had at the time not explained what the exceptions to the rule may be, but stated that the new policy “allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes”.

“When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the US illegally after being denied...

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