Absolute MELT as Green Card Applications must now be made from Home Country

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the 1952 Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which created Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA 245”). This established the modern concept of “adjustment of status,” allowing certain eligible non-citizens already physically present in the U.S. to become lawful permanent residents without leaving the country for consular processing abroad.

Before that:

Immigrants generally had to leave the U.S. and obtain an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad before re-entering as permanent residents.
In the 1930s–1940s, there was an awkward workaround called “pre-examination,” where someone in the U.S. would first get screened domestically, then briefly travel to Canada or another nearby country for visa issuance, then re-enter.

Important nuance:

The 1952 law did not mean everyone could adjust status from within the U.S.

Originally, it mainly applied to people who had entered legally and maintained lawful status.

Congress later expanded and modified eligibility several times, especially through:

A.1960 amendments,
B. the 1994 creation of INA §245(i),
and
C. the 2000 LIFE Act extension.

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Tons of insane seething on X about this. Lots of foreigners upset they cant scam and game the immigration system anymore.

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