U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a policy directive on January 1, 2026, placing an immediate hold on all pending immigration benefit applications for nationals from 39 countries designated as “high-risk” under the expanded presidential travel ban. This move affects thousands of immigrants seeking green cards, work permits, and citizenship.
The holds affect applications regardless of when the individual entered the United States.
The expanded restrictions now encompass two categories of countries:
Full restrictions (19 countries) — suspending both immigrant and non-immigrant visas — now apply to Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, plus individuals traveling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents.
Partial restrictions (20 countries) — suspending immigrant visas and tourist/student visas (B-1, B-2, F, M, and J categories) — affect Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan (immigrants only), Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The policy applies to anyone listing a designated country as their country of birth or country of citizenship, including individuals who acquired Citizenship by Investment from a second country to circumvent travel restrictions.
The directive confirms that employment-based petitions filed on behalf of nationals from travel ban countries are subject to holds, including Form I-129 nonimmigrant visa petitions (covering H-1B workers) and Form I-140 immigrant visa petitions.
Family reunification efforts face similar obstacles. The memorandum eliminates the broad family-based exemptions that previously allowed immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to bypass travel ban restrictions. The applications will be subject to “the same review, restrictions, or additional scrutiny as other benefit requests.”
Immigration attorneys report that the policy affects a wide range of applications, including Forms I-485 (adjustment of status/green card applications), I-751 (removal of conditions on residence), I-131 (travel documents), and naturalization applications.
The memorandum directs USCIS to conduct comprehensive re-reviews of immigration benefits approved on or after January 20, 2021, for individuals from the designated countries. The agency will conduct case-by-case assessments to determine whether applicants are listed in the Terrorist Screening Dataset, connected to terrorism or national security threats, linked to serious criminal activity, or unable to establish their identity.
The policy provides a narrow set of exceptions to the adjudicative hold, including:
- Form I-90 (permanent resident card replacement)
- Form N-565 (replacement naturalization/citizenship documents)
- Form N-600 (certificate of citizenship, except for Yemen and Somalia)
- Certain employment authorization applications required by court order
- Athletes participating in major sporting events like the World Cup or Olympics
- Cases serving U.S. national interest (requiring case-by-case approval)
- Law enforcement priority cases where ICE has requested USCIS action
The most common immigration benefit applications, including green card applications (I-485), naturalization applications (N-400), and most work permits, do not qualify for these exceptions.
Under the policy, USCIS can continue processing applications “up to final adjudication,” meaning the agency may issue Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny, but will not issue final approval, denial, or dismissal decisions while the hold remains in effect.
The hold remains in effect until lifted or modified by the USCIS Director through a subsequent memorandum. Requests to lift individual holds due to litigation or extraordinary circumstances require approval from the USCIS Director or Deputy Director.
USCIS acknowledged the directive “may result in delay to the adjudication of some pending applications” but determined this consequence necessary for “national security.”
