US Halts All Visa and Green Card Applications From 19 Countries After Security Review

The United States has stopped all immigration applications from 19 specific countries. An internal guidance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) instructs officers to pause all final decisions on these cases.

This halt impacts all types of applications, including green cards, visas, and citizenship ceremonies for long-time permanent residents who were just days away from becoming U.S. citizens.

The change followed the recent shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. The suspect was an Afghan evacuee who had received asylum. After the incident, the government ordered a full security review of immigration applicants from certain countries.

Which 19 Countries Are Affected?

All immigration cases from these nations are now on hold:

1. Afghanistan
2. Myanmar
3. Chad
4. Republic of the Congo
5. Equatorial Guinea
6. Eritrea
7. Haiti
8. Iran
9. Libya
10. Somalia
11. Sudan
12. Yemen
13. Burundi
14. Cuba
15. Laos
16. Sierra Leone
17. Togo
18. Turkmenistan
19. Venezuela

Why Is the US Doing This?

According to officials, the pause is meant to:

• Review past immigration approvals from these 19 countries
• Recheck applicants for national security and public safety risks
• Make sure no one with suspected criminal or terrorism ties is granted an immigration benefit

Some applicants who were already approved may face new interviews during the re-review.

Who is Affected Right Now?

• People already living in the US with pending immigration cases
• Permanent residents waiting for citizenship
• Immigrants applying from outside the US
• Anyone from the 19 countries who filed any immigration form, no matter when they arrived

There is no timeline for when the pause will end. It will only be lifted when immigration authorities issue a new memo.

What Could Happen Next?

Sources say the administration might extend the travel and immigration restrictions to more countries, possibly increasing the list to about 30 nations. Immigration lawyers have already reported cancelled ceremonies and delayed cases, describing the new pause as “unprecedented” in scope.

Immigration lawyers say that small pauses have happened before, but never this wide or affecting so many types of applications. Many families now face uncertainty, especially those who were close to citizenship.