The Trump administration ended the permitting rule.

Immigrants to the US seeking permanent residence or green cards will have to return to their home countries to file their applications, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said on Friday.

“From now on, an alien who is temporarily in the US and wants a green card must return to his or her home country to apply, except in exceptional circumstances,” USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said in a statement here.

He said the US is returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens can properly navigate its immigration system.

Kahler said, “This policy allows our immigration system to operate according to the law rather than encouraging loopholes. When aliens apply from their home country, it reduces the need to locate and remove those who slip into obscurity after being denied residency and decide to remain in the US illegally.”

USCIS announced a new policy memorandum reiterating the fact that, consistent with long-standing immigration law and immigration court decisions, aliens seeking adjustment of status must do so through consular processing through the State Department while out of the country.

The policy memorandum directed officials to consider all relevant factors and information on a case-by-case basis when determining whether an alien requires this extraordinary form of relief.

USCIS said, “Nonimmigrants, such as students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the U.S. for a short period of time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed to release them when their trip ends.”

“His travel should not be considered a first step in the green card process,” it said.

Following the law would allow most of these cases to be handled by the State Department in U.S. consular offices abroad and free up limited USCIS resources to focus on other cases under its purview, including visas, naturalization applications, and other priorities for victims of violent crime and human trafficking.

USCIS said, “The law was written this way for a reason, and despite the fact that it has been ignored for years, following it will help make our system fairer and more efficient.”