by Ava Benach
In the wake of the murder and shooting of two National Guard members in Washington DC, the Trump administration has taken extreme and severe steps related to immigration. Such moves are unprecedented and not a lot of detail has been provided. The legality of these moves is dubious and people should expect litigation over the administration’s new policies. The changes to immigration policy are as follows:
- A complete stop of adjudication of ALL asylum applications by the Citizenship and Immigration Service.
- A complete stop of ALL pending benefits applications (adjustment of status, naturalization, removal of condition, travel documents) for nationals of the 19 countries in the President’s June 2025 travel ban.
- A review of all benefits granted to all citizens of the 19 countries in the President’s June 5, 2025 travel ban, who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021.
Stop in adjudication of ALL asylum applications
The USCIS has announced that they are stopping adjudication on all applications for asylum. The order to stop adjudication of asylum applications means that the USCIS cannot decide the application. It seems that the USCIS is able to conduct interviews, review background checks, and engage in internal deliberation, but may not approve or deny asylum applications while the policy is in place. The policy will remain in place indefinitely and will only end upon the announcement of the USCIS director.
There are over 1.4 million asylum applications pending with the USCIS. Many of these applications were filed as far back as 2016. The stop in adjudications will increase the backlog and do little to enhance security. It will increase the anxiety of millions of individuals and families who have waited for their chance to have their cases heard. It is important to note that this stop in adjudication does not apply to the asylum applications pending before the immigration court. As of today, there is no separate directive to the immigration courts.
Stop in all benefits adjudications for citizens of travel ban countries
The 19 countries identified in the travel ban are: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.
For the countries listed above, the USCIS has announced that they are stopping all adjudications on applications or petitions filed by citizens of these countries. This means that the USCIS may not make decisions on applications filed by citizens of the 19 travel ban countries. Again, it presumably means that the USCIS may not approve or deny such applications, resulting in even greater delay in benefits processing. The USCIS memo identifies the following applications that will be affected by this pause:
- I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status
- Form I-90 Application for a Replacement Permanent Resident (Green) Card
- Form N-470 Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes
- Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
- Form I-131 Application for Travel Documents, such as advance parole or refugee travel
documents.
While the memo does not state that citizenship applications have been stopped, news reports have identified people from the 19 countries who have had their citizenship oath ceremonies cancelled this week in response to the USCIS actions.
Review of benefits granted to citizens of the 19 countries who entered after January 20, 2021
The USCIS is also going to engage in a review of all benefits, such as asylum, adjustment of status, TPS, and citizenship, to determine if the benefit was properly granted. This review may include interviews and re-interviews of people previously granted benefits. Such reviews will be for the purpose of identifying national security concerns, support of terrorism, criminal ineligibility, or identity fraud.
Within 90 days of the memo, which was issued on December 2, 2025, the USCIS is to “prioritize a list for review, interview, re-interview and referral to ICE or other law enforcement agencies.”
Benach Pitney Reilly Immigration can help you navigate these changes
This memo is new and there are a lot of unanswered questions about how it will work and what will happen to people while their benefits and cases are on hold. Benach Pitney Reilly is here to help you understand the situation and to develop strategies to protect yourself and your families. Get in touch with us today!