New USCIS Memo Freezes All Pending Asylum Applications, Holds Green Card and Citizenship Requests From 19 Countries

The Policy Memorandum (PM-602-0192) issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on December 2, 2025, directs personnel to immediately place an adjudicative hold and review on all pending asylum applications, regardless of the applicant’s country of nationality.

Additionally, it mandates a hold on pending benefit requests—including green card and citizenship applications—from individuals belonging to countries listed in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10949, Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, regardless of their date of entry.

Trump’s June proclamation listed Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. It also partially suspended the entry of travelers and immigrants from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, designating them as “high-risk countries.”

Furthermore, the memo instructs personnel to conduct a comprehensive re-review of approved benefit requests for individuals from these high-risk countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021. The re-review process may include an interview and, if necessary, a re-interview. Interviews for this group cannot be waived under any circumstances.

“This memorandum mandates that all applicants meeting these criteria undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess national security and public safety threats, along with any other grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility. An individualized, case-by-case review will be conducted based on all relevant information and facts,” the USCIS memo states.

According to the memo, this guidance outlines the adjudicative hold, procedural requirements, and processes for the re-review, interview, or re-interview of affected individuals. It further clarifies: “USCIS personnel are instructed to prioritize national security and public safety concerns and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations during the adjudication process. All findings must be documented in accordance with established protocols to support any subsequent determinations or actions.”

“Recently, the United States has seen what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people,” the memo notes, referencing recent incidents involving Afghan nationals—Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who pled guilty to plotting an Election Day 2024 attack, and Rahmanullah Lakanwal, suspected in an attack in Washington, D.C. In light of these concerns and threats to public safety, USCIS implemented the adjudicative hold to review policies, procedures, and operational guidance comprehensively.

“In light of these threats, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all individuals from high-risk countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021, is necessary. USCIS may also extend this review and re-interview process to individuals who entered the country outside this timeframe, as appropriate,” the agency clarified.

USCIS has thus ordered an immediate and sweeping adjudicative hold on thousands of immigration cases, including all pending asylum applications and many benefit requests filed by nationals of 19 high-risk countries. The directive, detailed in the new policy memo, represents an urgent response to national security concerns following recent high-profile terrorism-related incidents involving foreign nationals who entered the U.S.

Effective immediately, USCIS staff must freeze the processing of all Forms I-589 (Asylum Applications), regardless of nationality. It also halts processing most other benefit requests—excluding initial screenings such as credible fear interviews—for individuals from countries listed in PP 10949, which are subject to entry restrictions due to vetting deficiencies.

Additionally, USCIS will conduct a comprehensive re-review of previously approved benefit requests for individuals from these high-risk countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021.

At the core of this policy is a mandatory, individualized, case-by-case review for each application affected by the hold. This process will include a possible interview or re-interview, which cannot be waived, to fully assess national security and public safety risks.

The memo also outlines a four-point eligibility checklist that USCIS officers must use to determine whether an applicant poses a security threat.

Officers first verify whether the applicant appears in the federal Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS) as a Known or Suspected Terrorist (KST) or review any serious or adverse information related to the applicant’s identity. Officers also examine possible connections to terrorism or associations with organizations that support terrorism, as defined under U.S. immigration law.​

In addition, officers assess whether the applicant is linked to criminal activity or to individuals or groups that present a serious risk to the community, including involvement in aggravated felonies. Beyond these security indicators, applicants must firmly establish their identity in line with the requirements of the Presidential Proclamation, which places significant weight on secure and verifiable identity documentation.

USCIS acknowledged that the policy would likely cause processing delays for thousands of applicants. However, the agency emphasized that thorough vetting of all high-risk individuals remains a top priority, outweighing potential delays.

The adjudicative hold will remain in effect until a subsequent memorandum is issued by the USCIS Director. Within 90 days, USCIS is expected to release operational guidance and a prioritized review list for interviews, re-interviews, and law enforcement referrals.