US Halts Green Card and Citizenship Processing for 19 Countries

The Trump administration said Tuesday, December 2, 2025, that it has paused immigration benefit applications—including green card (adjustment of status) and U.S. citizenship (naturalization) processing—for people from 19 countries already targeted under a travel ban announced in June. Officials said the move is driven by national security and public safety concerns and requires affected cases to undergo additional scrutiny. (CNBC) 

According to reporting on the internal memo, the policy puts a hold on pending applications and orders a “re-review” process, which may include an interview or even a repeat interview, to reassess potential security risks. (Reuters) 

The expansion follows last week’s shooting of two U.S. National Guard members in Washington, D.C., in which an Afghan national was arrested as a suspect. One Guard member was killed and another critically injured, and the administration cited the incident as a key justification for tightening screening procedures.

The 19 countries named in reports include Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Haiti, Sudan, and Eritrea, among others. Some were already subject to full entry suspensions with limited exceptions, while others faced partial restrictions under the June policy.

Immigration attorneys say the change is already disrupting people’s timelines. The American Immigration Lawyers Association reported receiving accounts of canceled oath ceremonies, naturalization interviews, and green card interviews for applicants from the listed countries.

The announcement signals a broader shift: beyond heightened enforcement at the border, the administration is now putting greater emphasis on reshaping legal immigration through expanded screening and expanded restrictions tied to security concerns.