U.S. Announces Sweeping Immigration Restrictions After National Guard Shooting
Following last week's tragic shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., the Trump Administration has announced an aggressive series of new and forthcoming immigration restrictions and heightened reviews impacting several groups of foreign nationals.
These rapid, broad-reaching actions, largely announced via social media posts from federal officials, significantly tighten vetting procedures, pause key adjudications, and target nationals from countries previously identified in the Administration's travel ban.
The following summary details the most critical changes announced by the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS):
1. Reexamination of Green Cards for “Countries of Concern”
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced via social media that the agency will conduct a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of pending and approved permanent residence (green card) applications for foreign nationals from "countries of concern." This may lead to pausing of all immigration cases — including citizenship ceremonies, green card applications and nonimmigrant visas — for nationals of 19 countries listed below.
The 19 countries subject to the June 2025 travel ban are: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.
2. New Guidance on Discretionary Benefits
USCIS also issued new guidance allowing its officers to consider country circumstances when adjudicating a wide range of discretionary benefits applications. This guidance applies to requests pending or filed on or after November 27, 2025. This affects discretionary applications including:
Adjustment of Status (I-485)
Nonimmigrant changes or extensions of status
Employment Authorization Documents (EADs)
Temporary Protected Status
Refugee and asylum applications
Humanitarian parole.
Negative Factors: Officers may now consider country circumstances such as a high rate of visa overstays or the lack of a reliable central authority for issuing identity documents.
Impact: These country-specific factors, combined with an applicant’s own conduct after admission, can be weighted as a negative factor in an adjudicator’s decision to approve or deny the benefit. Importantly, this consideration is not limited to the 19 countries of concern.
3. Suspension of Visa Issuance for Afghan Nationals
The State Department announced the suspension of all visa issuance to holders of Afghan passports on November 28. While a general prohibition on most nonimmigrant and immigrant visas for Afghan nationals has been in place since June 9, 2025, under the existing travel ban, this new directive closes potential avenues previously available through travel ban exceptions.
4. Pause on Asylum Adjudication and Refugee Case Review
USCIS has ordered the immediate suspension of the adjudication of all pending asylum applications for all nationalities.
Additionally, USCIS will reportedly conduct a full review of all refugees who entered the United States during the Biden Administration (January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025—an estimated 233,000 cases). Adjudication of all green card applications (I-485s) filed by these refugees has been placed on hold pending the completion of this unprecedented mass review.
Potential Future Bans
President Trump has also stated his intent to permanently halt immigration from countries he characterized as “third world,” re-emphasizing his authority under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to suspend the entry of foreign nationals. While specific countries for this potential broader ban have not been identified, it suggests the Administration is prepared to issue new or expand existing directives.
Vong Law Group will continue to monitor these changes and provide updates.
