The Trump government has suddenly stopped all immigration and citizenship applications for people from 19 countries. These countries already had travel limits to the U.S. This big, quick change was announced by the U.S. immigration office, called the USCIS. A new memo with the rule affects the lives of over a million people worldwide. This shows a clear move to do much stronger safety checks (vetting) because of recent problems in the U.S.
The Immediate Policy Shift by USCIS
USCIS told its workers to stop making final decisions on all cases for people from the 19 countries right away. This stop affects many legal ways to immigrate, including:
- Getting a Green Card (legal permanent residency).
- Applying for U.S. Citizenship (they are canceling interviews).
- Decisions on Asylum cases.
USCIS says this is a needed, temporary step so they can do better background checks. They know the rule will cause delays for thousands of applications, but they say it is important for U.S. safety.
Driving Force: National Security Concerns and a Recent Incident
This big change happened because of a recent shooting in Washington, D.C. A person shot two members of the National Guard; one died and the other was badly hurt. The shooter was from Afghanistan. He came to the U.S. legally and was given asylum by the previous government. The Trump government said this shooting proves that the current checks for some immigrants are not good enough. Now, they plan to re-check all immigration approvals given to people from “Countries of Concern” since January 20, 2021.
The 19 Nations Subject to the Immigration Pause
The list of 19 countries is the same as a list the President made earlier to limit travel. Most of these nations are in Africa and Asia. The U.S. government thinks these countries are a high safety risk. The list of countries with Full Entry Restrictions (12 nations) includes: Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The countries with Partial Entry Restrictions (7 nations) are: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. This stop applies to all immigration applications for anyone born in or who is a citizen of these countries, no matter when they entered the United States.
ALSO Read: Is Serena Williams Actually Making a Comeback in 2026?
The Scale of Human and Logistical Impact
This temporary stop is a huge problem. It could affect over 1.4 million people who are waiting for their immigration or asylum cases to be finished. These people include:
- Asylum seekers running from danger and war.
- Green Card holders who were very close to becoming U.S. citizens.
- People waiting years to join their family in the U.S.
People who help immigrants are worried. They say the U.S. already has very strict checking rules. They think this pause will make the USCIS paperwork even slower and cause a lot of worry for people who followed all the rules. Critics say this rule hurts the legal immigration system and catches many people who are not a threat.
USCIS says they will re-check all affected cases very carefully, maybe with in-person meetings. This will use up a lot of the system’s time, so no one knows when the pause will end.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
The Trump government’s choice to stop all applications for people from the 19 countries shows it wants to make legal immigration harder for safety reasons. The government says it must do this for better safety checks. But people who protect human rights and immigrants say the rule is unfair, harmful, and an action that has never happened before.
The government is still writing the final rules. Because of this, immigrants from these 19 nations and their U.S. families will have a lot of stress and an unknown wait time. No one knows what the final, long-term effect on the U.S. legal immigration system will be.
Disclaimer
The news information presented here is based on available reports and reliable sources. Readers should cross-check updates from official news outlets and U.S. government immigration websites for the most current policy details.