-Linked to High-Risk Countries
Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued an immediate directive placing a comprehensive hold on all pending asylum applications and a wide array of other immigration benefit requests filed by individuals from 19 designated high-risk countries. The 19 designated countries, regardless of entry date are: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The new policy memorandum, published on December 2, 2025, mandates a freeze on all Forms I-589, which are Applications for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, regardless of the applicant’s country of nationality, pending a thorough review. Furthermore, it imposes a hold on all pending benefit requests—such as applications for permanent residence, green card replacements, and travel documents—for aliens whose country of birth or citizenship is listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949, which restricts entry from nations identified as posing terrorist and public safety threats.
This hold applies irrespective of the applicant’s date of entry into the United States. In addition to pending cases, the policy orders a mandatory comprehensive re-review of already approved benefit requests for individuals from these high-risk countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021. This re-review process will include a potential new interview or re-interview, which the memorandum specifies cannot be waived under any circumstance, to fully assess any national security or public safety threats and other grounds of inadmissibility.
The directive is framed as a necessary response to what the agency describes as identified vulnerabilities and recent threats to the American people. It specifically cites Presidential Executive Order 14161, issued in January 2025, which aims to safeguard the U.S. from foreign terrorist and national security threats. The memorandum references two recent incidents involving Afghan nationals—one who pleaded guilty to plotting a terrorist attack on Election Day 2024 and another suspected of attacking National Guard members in Washington, D.C.—as stark examples of the consequences of insufficient screening and vetting.
USCIS asserts that this intensive, case-by-case review is essential to ensure that individuals from countries of concern do not pose a threat. Officers are instructed to investigate whether an applicant is listed as a Known or Suspected Terrorist in government screening databases, has connections to terrorist activities or organizations as defined by immigration law, is linked to serious criminal conduct, or is unable to sufficiently establish their identity.
While acknowledging that the policy will cause significant processing delays for many applicants, the agency concludes that this burden is a necessary and appropriate measure when balanced against its paramount obligation to protect national security and public safety. The adjudicative hold will remain in effect indefinitely until officially lifted by the USCIS Director, with exemptions requiring top-level approval.
USCIS has been given a 90-day deadline to prioritize a review list, schedule necessary interviews, and issue detailed operational guidance in consultation with its policy and security divisions. The memorandum also notes that the review process may be extended to include individuals who entered the U.S. outside the post-January 2021 timeframe. Finally, the document clarifies that this internal guidance does not create any legally enforceable right or benefit for any individual in removal proceedings or other litigation.
