Topline
US immigration officials paused all immigration applications from 19 countries on the Trump administration’s travel ban list, days after President Donald Trump said he will “permanently pause migration” from “Third World Countries.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it was pausing all immigration related applications from the 19 countries on Trump’s travel ban list.
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Key Facts
In a notification issued on Tuesday night, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it was placing a hold on all “benefit applications” for people from the 19 “high risk” countries “pending a comprehensive review.”
The impacted countries are the ones whose nationals are already subject to U.S. travel bans under an executive order signed by Trump in June—with the USCIS move also impacting people already in the U.S.
The pause will affect a host of immigration related decisions, including Green Card applications and naturalizations for immigrants from the listed countries.
The notification also mentioned that the USCIS is placing a hold on all asylum decisions, reaffirming a statement made by the agency’s director Joseph Edlow last week.
The pause will remain in effect until Edlow decides to lift it “through a subsequent memorandum,” the notification added.
Tangent
The notification also mentioned that the USCIS will carry out a “comprehensive re-review” of immigration benefit requests for immigration from the 19 countries who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration. “In light of identified concerns and the threat to the American people, 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,” the notification said.
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