Your American Dream is pending review

NPR. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Julia Ritchie. And I'm Adrienne Ma. Right now, the Trump administration's policy on green cards is causing a lot of confusion among would be immigrants. A few weeks ago, it made a big announcement saying, quote, 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. What was your reaction to that announcement? I might have to leave to maybe get a green card, and I have to stop doing my job. And that that doesn't make any sense. I almost had a panic attack, and then I was like, I thought we were over this. You know who else almost had a panic attack? The American business lobby. After they complained about the policy, the administration backpedaled. In a statement, the agency that handles green cards told us, quote, this policy will have no noticeable impact on highly qualified applicants and skilled professionals who have followed the law, unquote. But this is kind of vague. Right? And so it's not really comforting to those still hoping for a green card. I honestly have never been more scared. That's the thing is that I feel like I'm completely powerless and that the only thing I can do is really wait and see. We asked listeners to tell us if and how they are affected by this policy shift. So today on the show, we hear from some of them. They wanted to share their stories, but not their names. Each of them told us they were afraid talking publicly could hurt their chances of getting a green card. After the break, how they're feeling about their jobs, their families, and their hopes of continuing to live in America. Support for this podcast and the following message come from strawberry.me. Be honest. Are you happy with your job? Are you stuck in a job you've outgrown or never wanted in the first place? Are your reasons for staying really just excuses for not leaving? Let a career coach from strawberry.me help you get unstuck. Discover the benefits of having a dedicated career coach in your corner and get 50% off your first coaching session at strawberry.me/npr. This message comes from Dell Technologies. Interruptions happen at work, But with the Dell Pro laptop powered by Intel Core Ultra with vPro built with optimized battery and built in intelligence, your tech won't slow you down. Dell.com/dell-pro. Built for you. This message comes from Pure Leaf Mental Focus Sparkling iced tea. Introducing a line of sparkling real brewed iced teas made with naturally occurring caffeine and added l theanine to help support attention. Find them at pureleaf.com/find-us. Applying for a green card can take months or even years. Most of the listeners who reached out to us were in a similar situation. They said, I've applied for a green card, and now it feels like I'm in …