US Pauses Immigration Applications From 19 'High-Risk' Countries: Check Full List
The suspension follows the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington by an Afghan national last week.
The Trump administration has paused all immigration applications filed by citizens of 19 countries that are deemed to be high-risk nations. The Department of Homeland Security issued an advisory on Tuesday directing officials to hold all applications from these countries.
The nations from which immigration applications have been paused are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
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“USCIS has considered that this direction may result in delay to the adjudication of some pending applications and has weighed that consequence against the urgent need for the agency to ensure that applicants are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible," the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in a four-page policy memorandum.
"Ultimately, USCIS has determined that the burden of processing delays that will fall on some applicants is necessary and appropriate in this instance, when weighed against the agency’s obligation to protect and preserve national security," it added.
The move follows President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s demand for tougher immigration enforcement in response to last week's deadly attack on two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
The attacker is suspected to be a 29-year-old Afghan national. “This memorandum mandates that all aliens meeting these criteria undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats,” the document said.
The pause is applicable to several immigration procedures, most notably green card applications and citizenship claims. Lawyers working for immigrants reported cancellation of naturalisation ceremonies and interviews for immigration status, according to a New York Times (NYT) report.
Texas-based immigration solicitor Ana Maria Schwartz revealed that two Venezuelan clients arrived at a Houston field office of US Citizenship and Immigration Services only to discover their interviews were scrapped without explanation, the NYT report added.
Immigration specialists have also said that America has always subjected applicants to rigorous scrutiny, highlighting how the Trump administration continues to widen the grounds for blocking or stalling foreign nationals' arrival.
“This sort of cross-checking of records, seeking information about past criminal behaviour — that is all part of the very, very narrow path towards legal immigration status in the United States,” Sameer Ashar, a clinical professor of law at the University of California at Irvine, was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.
