New U.S. green card policy could impact Canadians seeking permanent residency: lawyer

A flag sits just north of a new section of the border structure, behind, near Tecate, Calif., Sept. 24, 2020.

A new U.S. policy requiring most foreigners to apply for green cards from their home countries may cause long waits and complications for Canadians living in the U.S. seeking permanent residency, Canadian immigration lawyers say.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Friday that foreigners living in the States on temporary visas, such as students, workers or visitors, must go through consular services in their home countries to apply instead of doing so inside the U.S., with some exceptions.

USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said the policy aims for the immigration system “to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes.”

“We’re returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation’s immigration system properly,” he said in a press release.

“Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the green card process.”

Joel Guberman, a lawyer and partner at Toronto-based immigration firm Guberman Appleby, said the policy came “out of left field.”

He said the only U.S. consulate in Canada that processes green card applications is located in Montreal, which will likely be overwhelmed with cases as a result of this new policy, resulting in long wait times stretching months or even years.

“Montreal is one of the slower processing posts in the world,” he said in a phone interview Saturday. “If you add to that the thousands of Canadians that will have to go to Montreal, you can imagine how long it’s going to be.”

Guberman said the policy could indefinitely separate Canadians married to Americans and are seeking U.S. permanent residency or those running businesses in the U.S. who must leave them behind to apply for a green card.

But he added that to some extent, Canadians are the least affected by the policy because Canadians can go to the U.S. without a visa and the distance isn’t as far compared to other countries.

“There are a lot of things that we can do to get into the United States legally,” he said. “But if you have to go back to Islamabad, or if you have to go to Shanghai, the processing time, even when you have an interview, could be weeks or months and you’re stuck outside the country.”

Guberman added he has several clients who could be impacted by the change, and he anticipates his firm will receive more inquiries in the coming days from Canadians living in the U.S. seeking permanent residency.

Meanwhile, David Garson, managing partner of Garson Immigration Law in Toronto, added that he also wasn’t expecting the policy change and was in “absolute shock” when he learned about it.

It’s not yet clear what exceptions could be made in this policy and what discretion immigration officials would have, he said.

“It also would be very subjective, in the sense that if you’re going to look at it and say, this person can change status but this person may not be able to change status, and the facts may be somewhat similar,” he said in a phone interview Saturday. “A decision is only realistically as good as the person who makes the decision.”

Garson added his firm will be closely monitoring for any new information or developments in the policy and how it could affect their clients in the coming days.

“If it’s walked back or changed or interpreted differently, then I have a better opportunity to give more accurate information,” he said. “In this type of situation, I’m always cautious not to catastrophize.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2026.