The RecordExhibit 139
Counting a green card application filed from inside the U.S. against the applicant, and denying without a chance to respond
Pending means: In court or under criminal investigation right now.
Two U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policies issued in May and August 2026 tell officers to weigh an applicant's choice to seek permanent residence from inside the United States, rather than at a consulate abroad, as a negative factor, and let officers deny applications without first asking for more evidence or warning of a denial. Unions, professors' groups and six applicants sued on Oct. 5.
What happened
The May 21 policy describes adjustment of status, the process by which people already in the country become permanent residents, as an extraordinary form of discretionary relief and says officers may consider whether an applicant chose it over consular processing abroad; the plaintiffs' lawyers say applicants must now show unusual or even outstanding considerations to overcome that factor. The August policy lets officers deny some applications without a request for evidence or a notice of intent to deny, and applies to applications that were pending when it took effect.
About 57% of new lawful permanent residents in fiscal 2024, 782,800 of roughly 1.36 million, got their status through adjustment, according to Homeland Security figures cited in the complaint. The lawsuit, American Association of University Professors v. Mullin, was filed on Oct. 5, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by the AAUP and its Harvard and Boston University chapters, the Service Employees International Union and two of its locals, Americans for Immigrant Justice and six individual applicants, represented by Democracy Forward, the American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and a private firm. One plaintiff, Maria Francisca Guardado, applied in 2022 and was denied on Sept. 2 as a matter of discretion even though USCIS found her eligible, Newsweek reported.
Where it stands
The complaint makes six claims: that the policies exceed USCIS's authority, improperly apply new standards to pending cases, are arbitrary and capricious, skipped the rulemaking process, conflict with Board of Immigration Appeals precedent and violate due process. It asks the court to block the policies while the case proceeds, to set them aside, and to order USCIS to decide affected applications under existing precedent. No ruling has been issued.
The administration's side
USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler called the lawsuit yet another frivolous attempt to disrupt the Trump administration and said the agency will continue to faithfully apply long-standing immigration law and prior immigration court decisions. The May policy says adjustment of status is discretionary and that Congress generally expected certain people admitted or paroled temporarily to leave the country before seeking permanent residence.
Sources
Permanent link: https://unredactedrecord.com/e/aospolicy/