The United States Government has initiated a temporary halt on the processing of green card and citizenship applications for nationals of countries recently added to its expanded travel ban. This suspension primarily affects legal immigration applications handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and targets immigrants from a selection of African and Asian nations. Many individuals impacted are already lawfully residing within the United States, seeking to adjust their immigration status or obtain U.S. citizenship.

This decision follows an earlier directive in December by the Trump administration, which instructed USCIS to freeze all immigration petitions, including those for permanent residency and citizenship, for nationals of 19 countries previously covered by a June travel ban. The latest expansion of this measure was reportedly prompted by a Thanksgiving week shooting in Washington, D.C., allegedly carried out by an Afghan national. Following this incident, the administration had also suspended decisions on asylum cases managed by USCIS and halted all immigration and visa application processing for Afghans.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump further expanded the travel ban to encompass an additional 20 countries. This expansion includes an outright bar on entry for nationals from five nations and partial restrictions on travel from 15 others. A US official confirmed on Friday that USCIS has now extended the suspension of immigration cases to cover nationals of these newly added countries.

The full travel ban now applies to Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. Countries facing partial restrictions include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Nigeria's inclusion was justified by the White House, citing the free operation of "Radical Islamic terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State in certain parts of Nigeria, which creates substantial screening and vetting difficulties." Additionally, Nigeria was noted for its B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 5.56 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 11.90 percent, according to the Overstay Report.

USCIS Director Joseph Edlow addressed the development on social media, stating that the agency is "conducting a comprehensive review of anyone from anywhere who poses a threat to the US, including those identified in the president's latest proclamation to restore law and order in our nation's immigration system." Overall, this expanded travel ban by the Trump administration now impacts nationals from over 60 percent of African countries and approximately 20 percent of all countries worldwide.