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USCIS pauses visas from 19 nations for security overhaul
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Wed, 03, Dec 2025
- 03:34 EST
- 19
USCIS logo / USCIS
The Trump administration has ordered a halt on immigration applications from 19 countries that have been designated high-risk countries, triggering mandatory national-security re-vetting and potential re-interviews for hundreds of thousands of cases.
The decision comes as an aftermath of the attack on two National Guards, killing one and critically injuring the other, by an Afghanistan national in Washington. After the attack, Trump had vowed stringent action against immigrants and asylum seekers, from certain countries, who posed a risk to national security.
The Dec. 2 order issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services said, "USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021 is necessary."
ALSO READ: Trump sharpens focus on legal immigration after National Guard shooting
Through the 4-page-memo, USCIS has also imposed an immediate hold on all pending immigration benefit applications, including green cards, work permits, and travel documents, filed by nationals of the 19 countries designated as high-risk under President Trump’s June 2025 Proclamation 10949.
The proclamation fully bans entry from 12 countries, namely, Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and six others, while partially restricting nationals of the remaining seven, namely, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The new policy primarily affects applicants from African and Asian nations and key Asian states previously flagged for national-security concerns.
The order also mandates a freeze on all asylum applications worldwide. It reads, "Place a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the alien’s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review."
According to USCIS, more than 1.4 million people have pending asylum applications that could be affected by the new pause.
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