The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered an immediate pause on the processing of all pending immigration applications — including green cards, naturalization, and other legal pathways to residency or citizenship — for nationals of 19 countries previously targeted by heightened travel restrictions.
The sweeping directive, outlined in an internal Department of Homeland Security memorandum obtained by multiple news outlets, cites “ongoing national security and public safety concerns” and specifically references last week’s deadly shooting of two U.S. National Guard members in Washington, D.C., in which an Afghan national has been arrested as the primary suspect.
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USCIS just dropped the memo we have all been waiting for and this one is the most aggressive yet and goes a bit further.
Here’s what it actually does (in plain English):
1. Full asylum freeze — for EVERYONE.
Not just high-risk countries.
Not just certain categories.
ALL I-589… pic.twitter.com/2rHUfxZ2v9— James Blunt (@JBlunt1018) December 3, 2025
The policy applies to the same 19 countries that faced either full or partial entry suspensions under a June 2025 executive order. Those subject to the most severe restrictions include:
- Afghanistan
- Burma (Myanmar)
- Chad
- Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
The remaining seven countries under partial restrictions — now also covered by the processing freeze — are:
- Burundi
- Cuba
- Laos
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Venezuela
The memorandum instructs U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and consular posts abroad to halt adjudication of all pending petitions and applications from nationals of these countries, including family-based and employment-based green cards, naturalization (Form N-400), and adjustment of status cases. Applicants will be required to undergo “enhanced vetting,” which may include mandatory in-person interviews, re-interviews, and additional security checks.
Immigration attorneys reported Tuesday that USCIS field offices have already begun canceling scheduled naturalization oath ceremonies, citizenship interviews, and adjustment-of-status appointments for affected individuals.
Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), confirmed receiving dozens of reports of abrupt cancellations. “This is effectively a blanket suspension of legal immigration benefits for people from these countries, regardless of how long they have been waiting or how thoroughly they were already vetted,” she said.
The new measures mark a significant escalation from the June travel-ban expansion, which primarily restricted new entries but allowed most pending legal-immigration cases to continue moving forward. Tuesday’s directive shifts the administration’s focus squarely onto the legal immigration system itself — an area President Trump had de-emphasized during his first months back in office compared with high-profile deportation raids and border enforcement.
In recent days, President Trump has intensified his rhetoric on the issue, referring to Somali immigrants as “garbage” during a rally in Michigan and declaring “we don’t want them in our country.” The White House has tied the latest restrictions directly to the National Guard attack and other crimes it attributes to immigrants from the designated countries.
The Department of Homeland Security has not announced when — or under what conditions — the processing freeze might be lifted.
