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The Trump administration has frozen immigration applications from 19 countries covered under the president’s expanded travel-ban order, halting green card processing, naturalization ceremonies and other immigration benefits for tens of thousands of foreign nationals, according to multiple reports.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been directed to “stop final adjudication on all cases” involving applicants from the countries listed in President Donald Trump’s June proclamation, according to CBS News. Those nations include Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Haiti, and others identified by the administration as high-risk because of terrorism concerns, weak identity-verification systems, or unstable conditions.
The freeze applies broadly across USCIS, affecting green card petitions, naturalization requests, asylum filings, work authorizations, travel documents, and even scheduled oath ceremonies. Adjudicators were told to delay approvals and interviews until further notice.
The Department of Homeland Security did not dispute the reports. Instead, officials defended the move as part of heightened scrutiny. “The Trump administration is making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best,” a DHS spokesperson said.
The action follows last week’s shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House, a case that has fueled renewed debate over immigration vetting. Authorities have identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the United States under a Biden-era resettlement program after the fall of Kabul and later received asylum in April.
In recent days, the White House has ordered reviews of previously issued green cards for nationals from the travel-ban countries, paused asylum decisions nationwide, and launched a reassessment of all asylum grants issued under former President Joe Biden. Immigration lawyers reported widespread cancellations on Tuesday, with clients turned away from scheduled interviews and citizenship ceremonies without explanation.
It remains unclear how many applicants will be affected by the hold, though the number is expected to be substantial. Additional policy shifts announced last week could reach more than 1.5 million asylum seekers with pending cases and more than 50,000 individuals granted asylum during the Biden administration.