Crystal Dike
The Donald Trump administration has ordered an immediate halt to immigration applications from nationals of 19 countries already subject to United States travel bans or restrictions, according to a four-page memo issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The directive pauses the processing of both green card and citizenship applications to allow for heightened security screenings. USCIS acknowledged that the move would delay the adjudication of some cases but said the decision was necessary in the interest of national security.
“Ultimately, USCIS has determined that the burden of processing delays that will fall on some applicants is necessary and appropriate in this instance, when weighed against the agency’s obligation to protect and preserve national security,” the agency stated.
The New York Times first reported the immigration pause, which affects applicants from countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen—nations already under full or partial entry bans signed by President Trump in June. Additional restrictions also apply to nationals from seven other countries, including Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone and Venezuela.
The development comes just days after two National Guard members were shot while on patrol in Washington, D.C., in an attack that left one soldier dead and another critically wounded. The suspect, an Afghan national who entered the United States legally during the Biden administration, pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Tuesday. He was later granted asylum after Trump returned to office.
USCIS officials have warned that more than 1.4 million pending asylum cases could be affected by the pause. A spokesperson for the agency did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday night.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, speaking on Monday in an interview with Newsmax, questioned the screening of Afghan nationals who arrived in the U.S. after the country’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“I do not believe they were properly vetted,” he said. The agency echoed that position in a social media post, stating: “Nothing is off the table until every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also urged the president to widen the restrictions. “I recommended a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” she wrote on X on Monday.