US Citizenship and Immigration Services is expanding restrictions on foreign nationals in the US, ordering a halt to processing of green cards and other benefits for immigrants from 19 countries covered by a June travel ban proclamation.
The new policy memo issued late Tuesday follows a State Department announcement that it will halt visa processing for people with Afghan passports in response to the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC And the Trump administration has reportedly made plans to expand the travel ban to around 30 total countries in the fallout of the shooting.
The pause on benefit requests for travel ban countries includes applications for permanent residency, replacements for green cards, applications for travel documents, and applications for permanent residents to preserve their status while working abroad. It applies regardless of the date an applicant entered the US.
The countries covered by the travel ban include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
“In light of identified concerns and the threat to the American people, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021 is necessary,” the memo said.
USCIS is also putting a hold on processing of all asylum claims regardless of an immigrant’s country of origin, it said in the Tuesday memo.
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