Trump freezes all immigration applications from 19 countries

US Temporarily Suspends Immigration Applications from High-Risk Countries

On Tue, Oct 3, 2023, the United States government announced a temporary suspension of immigration applications from 19 countries classified as "high-risk". This decision follows a recent security incident involving a suspect of Afghan nationality.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) outlined the policy change in a memo. The suspension affects green card requests and citizenship processing for individuals from countries already under partial or full travel bans since June 2023.

All 19 affected countries are non-European, including Afghanistan and Somalia. Applications from these countries will undergo a comprehensive re-review process to assess potential national security and public safety threats. This applies to individuals who entered the United States on or after Jan 20, 2021.

The USCIS indicated that within 90 days, a prioritised list of individuals for review will be created, with potential referrals to immigration enforcement or other law enforcement agencies.

Immigration attorneys have reported cancellations of naturalisation ceremonies and interviews, with individuals being turned away without explanation.

The suspension impacts the following countries:

Africa: Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Sudan, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Somalia Others: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran, Yemen, Cuba, Laos, Turkmenistan, Venezuela

In addition to the application pause, USCIS previously announced a halt on asylum decisions and the State Department has suspended visas for Afghans who supported US military efforts. Furthermore, the administration plans to review cases of refugees who entered the United States during the current administration.

Based on reporting by Africanews.