The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a change Friday to the way that migrants in the United States on a visa can apply for a green card, directing those who are trying to obtain the green card to return home for the process.

The department said the change includes international students and temporary workers, stating those who are in the U.S. on temporary visas are expected to only remain in the country for a set time.

“From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a statement. “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 U.S. illegally."

The new process instructs migrants to apply for a green card through consular services in their home country instead of trying to change their status while already in the U.S.

“Following the law allows the majority of these cases to be handled by the State Department at U.S. consular offices abroad and frees up limited USCIS resources to focus on processing other cases that fall under its purview, including visas for victims of violent crime and human trafficking, naturalization applications, and other priorities," Kahler said.

The department said there will be some exceptions to the change, which will be granted on a case-by-case basis, but did not indicate what those exceptions would be.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.