Foreign nationals seeking US permanent residency will now be required to return to their home countries to apply for green cards, except in extraordinary circumstances. US Citizenship and Immigration Services stated this change aims to align the system with the law's intent.

Foreigners applying for permanent residency in the US will now have to go back to their home countries to seek green cards. “From now on, an alien who is in the US temporarily and wants a green card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” Zach Kahler, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a statement on Friday. “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes,”...