Trump Administration Considers Reopening Green Card Cases from “Countries of Concern”
- As of November 28, 2025, USCIS’s director stated in an post on X that they will be re-examining every green card issued to immigrants from 19 “countries of concern.”
- All immigration requests involving Afghan nationals are paused indefinitely.
- The White House may be preparing additional national security measures, and formal guidance is expected soon.
- Via a post on Truth Social, President Trump has also publicly called for “reverse migration,” revoking citizenship from certain naturalized citizens, and a “permanent pause” on migration from “Third World countries.”
In the past 48 hours, the Trump administration and USCIS have issued a flurry of statements responding to the D.C. shooting that left one National Guard member dead and another critically injured:
- USCIS announced on X that the agency would halt the processing of all immigration requests related to Afghan nationals
- USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced on X that President Trump had ordered a “full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
- On Truth Social, President Trump called for “reverse migration” and a “permanent pause” on migration from “Third World countries,” among other things.
As of Friday, November 28, the only formal change in immigration policy that has been released is a USCIS Policy Alert (PA-2025-26). The Policy Alert revises how discretion is allowed to be applied in immigration cases.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s new guidance directs officers to treat country-specific factors from Presidential Proclamation 10949 as significant negative discretionary factors in adjudications, including adjustment of status, extensions of stay, and changes of status, effective immediately.
| ⚠️ Disclaimer: Social media posts are NOT equivalent to formal policy guidance. “Unless they’re posted on the Federal Register or a policy memo, no changes are official as of yet,” says Nicole Gunara, Principal Immigration Attorney at Manifest Law. |
November 28, 2025: USCIS pauses all decisions on asylum seekers
USCIS is pausing all decisions on asylum seekers, according to USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow.
He announced the move on X on Friday evening, November 28th: “USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” Edlow wrote. “The safety of the American people always comes first.”
The statement came a day after a previous post where he announced the agency would review all Green Cards from immigrants from 19 “countries of concern.”
There is a pending backlog of more than 1.5 million asylum applications, according to USCIS data from the third quarter of fiscal year 2025.
The State Department also announced on X that it has paused issuing visas to anyone with an Afghan passport.
November 27, 2025 – 11:26 p.m.: President Trump Posts Late-Night Message Announcing Plans for “Reverse Migration”
Hours after USCIS issued its policy alert, Trump posted a statement on Truth Social.
Key points include:
- A promise to put a “permanent pause” on migration from “all Third World Countries”
- Plans to terminate “millions of Biden illegal admissions”
- Removal of anyone “not a net asset” or “incapable of loving our Country”
- Ending federal benefits and subsidies for noncitizens
- Denaturalization of migrants who “undermine domestic tranquility”
- Deportation of any foreign national deemed a “public charge,” “security risk,” or “non-compatible with Western Civilization”
- A call for “reverse migration” as the ultimate solution
November 27, 2025 – 6:03 p.m.: USCIS Issues a Policy Alert Changing How Discretion Is Applied
USCIS released formal policy guidance revising how officers should weigh discretion when adjudicating benefits, including:
- Adjustment of status
- Extensions of stay
- Changes of nonimmigrant status
Under the new policy:
- Country-specific factors listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949 are now treated as “significant negative factors.”
- Officers may consider concerns such as insufficient vetting, screening limitations, and national security risks tied to the 19 listed countries.
- The guidance applies to all pending and newly filed cases, effective immediately.
November 27, 2025 – 1:41 p.m.: USCIS Director Says Trump Ordered a Sweeping Re-examination of Green Cards
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced on X that President Trump had ordered a “full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
The announcement referenced a June 2025 presidential proclamation (PP 10949) naming 19 countries considered deficient in vetting and screening standards.
These include: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.
The directive came less than 24 hours after Trump referred to the shooting as an “act of terror” and promised additional National Guard deployments in D.C.
November 26, 2025 – 10:04 p.m.: USCIS Abruptly Halts All Immigration Processing for Afghan Nationals
Hours after the shooting, USCIS announced on X that all immigration requests related to Afghan nationals were “stopped indefinitely” pending a review of “security and vetting protocols.”
The pause impacts asylum, parole, adjustment of status, and other immigration benefit requests tied to Afghan nationals.
November 26, 2025 – 2:15 p.m.: Two National Guard Members Shot Near the White House
On November 26, two National Guard members were shot near the White House in an incident that quickly triggered sweeping immigration responses from the federal government. Authorities identified the suspect as a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the U.S. through the Operation Allies Welcome program in 2021 and was granted asylum earlier this year. One Guard member later died from her injuries, and the suspect was taken into custody after being wounded at the scene.
Unsure about how these recent immigration changes could affect your status? Manifest Law’s immigration attorneys can assess your situation and help you determine what these updates mean for you. Request a consultation to learn more.
