On Dec. 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a memorandum pausing all benefit adjudications for nationals of the 19 travel ban countries pending additional vetting. These countries 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.
Individuals with multiple nationalities will be subject to these measures if any nationality of theirs is named as a travel ban country. The pause applies to all forms filed with USCIS, including naturalization ceremonies. USCIS officers are also directed to conduct extensive re-reviews of already approved benefit requests for individuals from these countries who entered the U.S. on or after Jan. 20, 2021. The memo indicates that USCIS officers may also "when appropriate" conduct this re-review process for individuals who entered before Jan. 20, 2021.
The memo also formalizes the previously announced suspension, posted on the USCIS Director's X account, of all USCIS asylum adjudications nationwide, regardless of nationality. These directives take effect immediately and remain in place until the USCIS Director lifts them.
Subsequently, USCIS announced the establishment of the USCIS Vetting Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a specialized, centralized unit for "enhanced vetting." Once fully operational, the center will provide more comprehensive reviews of immigration applications and petitions, with priority given to requests from "presidentially designated countries of concern."
Although USCIS has been directed to issue operational guidance within 90 days of the memo's publication, it is unclear how long this adjudication freeze will last.
Now more than ever, it is important to seek the advice of an experienced immigration attorney before submitting any immigration application. Give us a call and set up a consultation.