The United States Government has temporarily halted legal immigration applications filed by Nigerians and nationals of several other countries newly added to the US “travel ban” proclamation.
The decision largely affects immigrants from parts of Africa and Asia and marks a further expansion of the sweeping crackdown on legal immigration under former US President Donald Trump, which was intensified earlier this month.
Many of those impacted by the pause are legal immigrants already residing in the United States who are seeking to adjust their status, obtain permanent residency (green cards), or become American citizens.
Earlier in December, the Trump administration directed the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to completely freeze all immigration petitions — including applications for US citizenship and permanent residency — submitted by nationals of 19 countries covered by the administration’s June travel ban.
The directive, commonly referred to as the “travel ban,” followed the Thanksgiving week shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC, an attack allegedly carried out by an Afghan national.
In addition to the freeze on immigration petitions, the administration also suspended all asylum decisions handled by USCIS, as well as the processing of immigration and visa requests by Afghan nationals.
On Tuesday, Trump further expanded the travel ban proclamation to include 20 additional countries, fully barring immigrants and travellers from five new nations and partially restricting entry from another 15.
Speaking with CBS News on Friday, a US official, who requested anonymity because the changes have not been formally announced, said USCIS has extended the suspension of immigration cases to cover nationals of the newly added countries.
Countries facing full travel bans
The pause now applies to nationals of: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria
Countries facing partial restrictions
The suspension also affects immigrants from: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Previously affected countries
Before the latest expansion, the suspension already applied to nationals of: Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Laos, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Venezuela.
In the latest proclamation, Trump imposed a full entry ban on citizens of Laos and Sierra Leone, both of which had previously been under partial restrictions.
Reacting to the development, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow wrote on social media late Thursday: “USCIS 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, Trump’s expanded travel ban now affects nationals from more than 60 percent of African countries and roughly 20 percent of countries worldwide.