The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) May 21, 2026 Adjustment of Status Policy Memorandum (PM-602-0199) has raised practical concerns for employers sponsoring foreign national employees for green cards. Although USCIS has since indicated the policy may be narrower than initially expected, the memo signals closer discretionary review of adjustment applications filed from inside the United States.

Why This Matters for Employers
Adjustment of status (AOS) has long been a common path for eligible employees and family members already in the United States to become lawful permanent residents without leaving the country for consular processing. For decades, adjustment has operated as one of the two major statutory routes to lawful permanent residence, alongside consular processing. Adjustment has traditionally been understood as a matter of statutory eligibility plus case specific discretion, not as an extraordinary or rarely granted remedy. In practice, it has been treated as equal with consular processing, rather than an exceptional alternative.

The May 21 memo disrupted that settled understanding by framing adjustment as “administrative grace” and “extraordinary relief” that permits applicants to avoid what it describes as the ordinary consular process abroad. In practical terms, that framing suggests consular processing is the preferred or primary route and that adjustment may be viewed as the exception.

For employers who sponsor foreign national workers for permanent resident status, the key issue is continuity: changes to carefully prepared immigration strategies, as well as potential delays at consular posts abroad, can affect work authorization, retention planning, relocation decisions, and employee communications.

What Changed
The memo does not eliminate adjustment of status or change the statutory eligibility rules. It directs officers to apply a broader discretionary review, including whether the applicant could have pursued consular processing abroad.

Negative factors may include status violations, failure to follow the terms of admission or parole, fraud or false statements, failure to depart when expected, or facts suggesting the person intended to remain permanently despite having entered in a temporary status.

Positive factors may include strong family ties, a clean immigration history, stable lawful employment, tax compliance, community involvement, caregiving responsibilities, education, and other evidence of good moral character and U.S. ties.

Current Status
Initial reaction from the immigration bar was significant because the memo appeared to recast adjustment as an extraordinary form of relief rather than a routine statutory option for eligible applicants.

USCIS has since suggested that the policy will not be applied as broadly as many first feared, especially where an applicant provides an economic benefit or otherwise supports the national interest. Even so, employers should expect more individualized questions and documentation requests in some adjustment cases.

What Employers Should Do
Employers should not assume adjustment is unavailable. Instead, they should:

• Plan earlier, coordinate closely with immigration counsel, and prepare stronger discretionary evidence before filing.
• Understand how an employee’s present immigration status may significantly change the new discretionary analysis – with statuses like H-1B and L, that allow for the intention to remain permanently in the United States, being less impacted than other status that require foreign nationals to maintain an intent to leave the country, like F-1, TN, and E-2.  
• Review pending and upcoming green card cases for status gaps, travel issues, or prior immigration inconsistencies.
• Document favorable equities, including lawful employment, business need, tax compliance, family ties, community involvement, and employee contributions.
• Prepare employees for interview questions about why they are pursuing adjustment rather than consular processing.
• Build additional time into workforce planning in case USCIS requests more evidence or schedules more detailed interviews.

Barley Snyder will continue to monitor USCIS guidance, implementation developments, and any litigation affecting adjustment cases. For help evaluating employer-sponsored green card strategy, discretionary risk factors, employee interview preparation, or whether consular processing may become an issue, please contact Andrew J. Mahon, Silas M. Ruiz-Steele, Hyo Jin (“Jinnie”) Lee, or any member of Barley Snyder’s Immigration Practice Group.