(WASHINGTON) — The United States has paused all pending immigration applications from 19 “countries of concern,” meaning that even applicants with pending green card applications will be subject to a pause and review, following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.
A memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted on Tuesday says that anyone from a country on the administration’s new travel ban list who is in the United States would have their application for asylum or other benefits, including a green card, paused.
“The Trump Administration is making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” said a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. “We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake. The Trump Administration is reviewing all immigration benefits granted by the Biden administration to aliens from Countries of Concern.”
The 19 travel ban countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The pause is in effect until USCIS issues guidance on additional vetting of these nationals, according to a source, who has reviewed the internal USCIS documents.
ABC News previously reported that some swearing-in ceremonies for people from the travel ban list had been abruptly canceled.
Rosanna Berardi, an immigration attorney, told ABC News that USCIS first issued the policy on Nov. 27, a day after two National Guard members were attacked near the White House by a suspect who authorities say entered the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021. The policy has since been updated and expanded upon, Berardi said.
“USCIS updated its Policy Manual to require officers to apply these ‘country-specific factors’ when deciding green card applications, extensions or changes of status, waivers, and certain work authorization requests,” Berardi said. “What’s less formal are the reported pauses on certain adjudications for nationals of the 19 listed countries. Those appear to come from internal operational directives, not published policy, and they raise serious legal questions about transparency, statutory authority, and the reach of the travel ban proclamation beyond the entry context.”
“We are awaiting formal guidance,” the attorney said.
Berardi said that, taken together, the moves mean “slower processing, more scrutiny, and more uncertainty for affected applicants while litigation challenges are almost certain to follow.”
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