Emergency personnel keep a presence following the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Trump administration is pausing all immigration applications, including requests for green cards, for people from 19 countries it deems high-risk.
Tuesday’s announcement is part of sweeping immigration changes in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members.
The changes were outlined in a policy memo posted on the website of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency tasked with processing and approving all requests for immigration benefits.
The 19 nations are:
- Cuba
- Haiti
- Venezuela
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Republic of Congo
- Burundi
- Libya
- Chad
- Sudan
- Eritrea
- Somalia
- Yemen
- Iran
- Turkmenistan
- Afghanistan
- Myanmar
- Laos
The pause puts on hold a wide range of immigration-related decisions such as green card applications or naturalizations for immigrants from those countries. It’s up to the agency’s director, Joseph Edlow, on when to lift the pause, the memo said.
The administration in June banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access for those from seven others, citing national security concerns.
Originally published at The Associated Press