In a sweeping decision announced on December 2, 2025, the administration of Donald Trump has ordered an immediate halt to all immigration applications — including green-card requests and naturalisation processes — for individuals from 19 countries previously placed under travel bans.
The freeze, mandated through a memo by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), applies not only to new applications but also affects asylum claims, green-card renewals and citizenship naturalisation requests by migrants from nations regarded as high-risk under existing bans.
According to the memo, even immigrants from those countries who are already present in the United States will now face enhanced scrutiny. USCIS announced that it would launch a comprehensive re-review of “approved benefit requests” for all migrants from the affected countries who entered on or after January 20, 2021. This re-evaluation may include fresh interviews, re-interviews, and potential referral to immigration enforcement or law-enforcement agencies.
The policy follows a recent violent incident near the White House in Washington D.C., where two members of the National Guard were shot. The suspect, identified as a 29-year-old Afghan national who had been granted asylum, has been linked to the attack. The administration cited this event among its reasons for intensifying immigration restrictions.
When the travel bans were first imposed in June 2025, the regime affected 12 countries with full entry bans — including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen among others — while placing partial restrictions on seven more: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Nationals of these countries were already barred or limited in terms of entry.
Until now, the freeze had not impacted immigrants from those countries already inside the U.S. But the new directive marks a significant shift: all immigration benefit requests, whether pending or newly filed, will be suspended until further notice. The USCIS memo makes the implementation conditional on a decision by its director, Joseph Edlow, who will determine when the “hold” may be lifted.
Critics of the move have raised serious objections, calling it indiscriminate and likening it to collective punishment. Immigrant-rights groups argue that suspending processing for thousands of individuals — many of whom may have built lives in the U.S. — undermines due process and treats lawful residents as security threats merely on the basis of their nationality.
USCIS officials defended the move by framing citizenship as a privilege, not a right, and argued that in the interest of national security, the agency must “take no chances” when granting immigration benefits.
People from these 19 countries slated for the freeze include many from conflict-affected or low-income nations. The affected list includes countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Eritrea, Sudan, Congo, Myanmar, Haiti, and others. Nationals seeking green cards, asylum, or citizenship — including those already residing in the U.S. — will now face indefinite delays and re-examinations.
It remains unclear when, or if, the freeze will be lifted. USCIS has 90 days from the memo’s issuance to prioritize a list of applicants for review, but no timeline has been set for resuming normal processing. Meanwhile, thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers from the 19 countries are left in limbo.
