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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 memo issued on Tuesday by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, NBC reported.
The four-page directive states that the pause, which applies to both green card and citizenship applications, is intended to allow for heightened security screenings.
“USCIS has considered that this direction may result in a delay to the adjudication of some pending applications.
“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 wrote.
The New York Times first reported the immigration pause, which applies to both green card and citizenship applicants.
The decision 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 apply to nationals from seven other countries, among them Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone and Venezuela.
The move comes just days after two National Guard members were shot while on patrol in Washington, DC, an attack that left one soldier dead and another critically wounded.
The suspect, an Afghan national who entered the US 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 caught up in the pause.
According to NBC, a spokesperson for the agency did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday night.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow, speaking on Monday in an interview with Newsmax, questioned the screening of Afghan nationals who arrived after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“I do not believe they were properly vetted,” he said. The agency echoed that stance on social media, stating, “Nothing is off the table until every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem offered even sharper criticism, saying she urged the president to expand 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 Monday on
