US Suspends Green Cards for 19 Countries

Dozens of countries have been added to a new U.S. immigration pause list, including some of the world’s poorest and most unstable nations, according to the New York Times. The Trump administration has suspended immigration applications from 19 countries that were previously under travel restrictions, effectively halting green card and citizenship processing for tens of thousands of people. The affected nations include Iran, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Haiti, Somalia, and Venezuela, with many located in Africa and Asia, NBC News reports. Sources told CBS News that the administration is considering expanding the list to about 30 countries.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed the move, which follows the recent shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C.—one fatally—by an alleged Afghan asylum recipient. Officials say the pause is intended to strengthen vetting and ensure that only the “best of the best” are granted U.S. citizenship, emphasizing that “citizenship is a privilege, not a right.”

Immigration lawyers nationwide have reported sudden cancellations of naturalization ceremonies and green card interviews, often without explanation. Experts warn the pause will worsen backlogs in an already strained immigration system. “Everything is being put on hold,” said Texas immigration attorney Ana Maria Schwartz. “It is just like a traffic jam, and it is just going to get worse and worse and worse.”

The administration is also reviewing green cards already issued to people from the travel-restricted countries, pausing asylum decisions, and reassessing asylum grants issued during the Biden administration. These changes could affect more than 1.5 million people with pending asylum applications and over 50,000 who received asylum during the previous administration. The number of people currently waiting for immigration benefits from the affected countries remains unclear.

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