The United States has announced a new policy that means most immigrants seeking a green card will have to leave the country and apply at an embassy or consulate abroad.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on recently that people seeking a change in status must do so through consular processing outside of the country "except in extraordinary circumstances".
The move - part of President Donald Trump administration's efforts to curtail illegal immigration - closes a loophole that had allowed visa holders and visitors to apply for a green card while still in the US.
Critics of the policy say the longstanding system allowed families to stay together during the lengthy application process.
The new method could also make it difficult or impossible for some immigrants who leave the country in hopes of gaining a green card - which grants permanent residence in the US - to return.
The USCIS policy memo states that people such as students, temporary workers or people on tourist visas need to go through the Department of State from outside of the US.
"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 US illegally after being denied residency," USCIS said, making the system "fairer and more efficient".
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, wrote on X: "The era of abusing our nation's immigration system is over."
"We're returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation's immigration system properly," USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said.
"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."
Kahler said the policy would allow the immigration system "to function as the law intended instead of incentivising loopholes" and that visits "should not function as the first step in the green gard process".
It is unclear whether pending green card applications will be affected.
Another policy from the administration this year has paused issuing visas to immigrant visa applicants from 75 countries.
Overstaying a US visa can lead to deportation, ineligibility for future visas and re-entry bans lasting up to 10 years, according to the US State Department.