Immigrants prepare to become American citizens at a naturalization service on January 22, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. While much of the federal government was closed Monday morning, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices remained open across the country.
John Moore/Getty Images North America
hide signature
switch signature
John Moore/Getty Images North America
The Department of Homeland Security is suspending immigration applications from 20 more countries after expanded travel restrictions went into effect Jan. 1.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS, a memo issued Thursday said it will suspend all pending applications for visas, green cards, citizenship or asylum from immigrants from additional countries. The memorandum also outlines plans to re-examine applications from immigrants from these countries as early as 2021.
The list, consisting mainly of African countries, includes Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Last month, the Trump administration expanded the list of countries with U.S. travel restrictions from 19 to 39, as well as the Palestinian Authority. The move comes as the administration tightens controls on those who have taken legal steps to obtain permanent status in the United States.
“USCIS remains committed to ensuring that aliens from high-risk countries of concern who enter the United States do not pose a risk to national security or public safety,” the memo said as its rationale for the pause and reviews. “To faithfully enforce U.S. immigration laws, the flow of aliens from countries with high overstay rates, significant fraud, or both must cease.”
The memo outlines some exceptions, including athletes and their team members competing in the World Championships and the 2026 Olympics, which will be held in the United States this year.
The administration first proposed expanding restrictions following the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard troops over Thanksgiving weekend.
By the end of 2025 DHS has begun taking steps to further pause and consider these legal migration routes. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that oversees the processing of applications including visas, naturalization and asylum, announced it would review the status of everyone who was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee under the Biden administration, essentially reopening those cases.
The agency also previously announced an indefinite suspension of processing of all asylum applications while it processed a backlog of applications.
