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The United States government has temporarily halted the processing of legal immigration applications filed by Nigerians and citizens of several other countries newly added to President Donald Trump’s expanded travel ban, according to a report by CBS News.
This development marks a significant escalation in the administration’s crackdown on legal immigration, affecting applicants across Africa and Asia. Many of those impacted are lawful immigrants already residing in the U.S. who are seeking to adjust their status, obtain permanent residency, or become American citizens.
Earlier in December, the administration directed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to freeze all immigration petitions — including applications for naturalization and green cards — submitted by nationals of countries listed under the June travel ban or related restrictions. The directive followed the Thanksgiving week shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., an attack allegedly carried out by an Afghan national.
In response, USCIS suspended asylum decisions and halted immigration and visa requests from Afghan nationals. On Tuesday, Trump broadened the scope of the travel ban, adding 20 new countries to the proclamation. Under the revised order, citizens of five countries face a full entry ban, while nationals from 15 others are subject to partial restrictions.
A U.S. official, speaking to CBS News on condition of anonymity, confirmed that USCIS has extended its suspension of immigration case processing to cover nationals of the newly listed countries.
Countries Affected
- Full entry ban: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria
- Partial restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Previously, the suspension applied to nationals of Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Laos, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Yemen, and Venezuela. In the latest update, Laos and Sierra Leone were moved from partial restrictions to a full entry ban.
In a social media post late Thursday, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow confirmed the scope of the suspension, stating that the agency was reviewing immigration cases involving individuals identified under the president’s proclamation.
