This article was last updated on December 22, 2025

Summary

This article is for people who are looking for information about U.S. government immigration pauses announced in November and December 2025 and what they mean for people seeking asylum and people from President Trump’s June and December 2025 travel ban seeking other immigration statuses.

The 19 countries listed in the June 2025 travel ban are: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen. 

In December 2025, the government announced a new version of the travel ban that will go into effect on January 1, 2026. The new version includes a longer list of countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, The Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Yemen. It also includes individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents. 

You can learn more about the travel ban here. 

This article explains what the pause on decision-making for immigration status or visa to the United States means as well as the impact of other changes like the pause on asylum decisions. For information about the re-vetting of refugees already in the United States, please see here.

For more information about the immigration policy changes affecting Afghans go here.  

What are the policy changes?

As of December 22, the U.S. government announced the following changes:

• All U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) applications for people from the countries listed in the June and December 2025 travel bans are paused.
• All asylum decisions are paused. 
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers can consider if a person is from a country travel ban to decide applications that are discretionary, like asylee applications for green cards. Although USCIS has only announced changes to this policy for people from countries listed in the June 2025 travel ban, it is likely that the changes will apply to people from countries listed in the December 2025 travel ban as well.
• The U.S. government will review immigration applications that have already been approved for people from countries included in the June and December 2025 travel bans who came to the U.S. since 2021.

What does this mean for nationals of the June and December 2025 travel ban countries who have already filed for immigration benefits?

On December 1, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) paused processing of all applications for people from the 19 countries listed in the June 2025 travel ban. If you filed an application with USCIS and are waiting for a decision, your case will not receive a decision at this time. If you have a scheduled interview for your application, it is possible that interview will be cancelled. We do not know when, or if, the government will end this pause. It is also possible there will be lawsuits in court that could force the government to begin processing again; however, we do not know if they will be successful.

USCIS also announced that it will start considering if you were born in a June 2025 travel ban country as a strong “negative factor” when deciding your application, even if the pause is lifted. You can read more about this here. 

On December 18, 2025, USCIS announced that it will be including the countries listed on the December 2025 travel ban in the pause. 

What does this mean for people from the June and December 2025 travel ban countries who already have status?

On December 2, 2025, USCIS issued a policy that it will be “re-examining” every immigration application that was approved for people born in the 19 countries in President Trump’s June 2025 travel ban who entered the U.S. since 2021: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen. 

As of December 22, USCIS will also “re-examine” immigration applications for people born in the countries on the December 2025 travel ban: Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, The Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Yemen. It also includes individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents.

What a re-review would look like for you depends on your immigration status. For many people, USCIS may conduct new interviews. If the government thinks they have a legal reason to deport you, they can begin hearings before a judge to deport you to your country of citizenship or another country. If you receive any notice about a government interview, you should contact an immigration lawyer right away. 

Lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or “green card holders,” have particular rights under U.S. law. If you are a lawful permanent resident in this country, this is what you might expect: 

• If you applied for your green card while in the U.S. and received it within the last five years: USCIS has the ability to take away your green card if they believe you were ineligible at the time you got your green card. To do this, USCIS must first notify you that they are taking away your green card. If this happens then you have the right to ask an immigration judge to review this decision. 

• If you applied for and received your green card in the U.S. more than five years ago or entered the U.S. as a permanent resident (on an immigrant visa): In order to try and take away your green card, the government must start removal proceedings against you in immigration court. Through this process, you will be able to present your case in front of an immigration judge. You will keep your green card throughout the immigration court process unless a judge decides to take away your green card and orders that you need to leave the U.S.

What does this mean for future applications by people from the June and December 2025 travel ban countries?

On November 27, 2025, USCIS issued new guidance which allows it to consider country-specific factors as “significant negative factors” when deciding applications by people from the countries listed in President Trump’s June 2025 travel ban. As of December 22, 2025, USCIS has not made an announcement, but it is likely that these policies will apply to future applications by people from the December 2025 travel ban countries as well.

This means that USCIS may consider the country where you were born as a strong “negative factor” when deciding your application, even if the pause is lifted. Because they can now consider this new negative factor, they will have an easier time denying applications by people from countries on the travel ban list. It is possible there will be lawsuits in court that could force the government to end this policy; however, we do not know if they will be successful. Some examples of discretionary applications that could be affected by this policy include asylum, green cards for asylees, and humanitarian parole (including re-parole). Refugee green card applications are not discretionary and should not be affected by this policy.

What does this mean for all USCIS asylum applications?

On November 28, 2025, U.S. Immigration (USCIS) announced on social media that it is pausing all asylum decisions (for every nationality) indefinitely, and the agency gave more detail about this in a memo on December 2. This means that if you are awaiting a decision on your pending asylum application – regardless of whether you have had an interview yet or not – your case will not receive a decision at this time. If you have a scheduled asylum interview, it is possible that interview will be cancelled. We do not know when, or if, the government will end this pause. It is also possible there will be lawsuits in court that could force the government to begin processing again; however, we do not know if they will be successful.

USCIS also announced that it will start considering if you were born in a June 2025 travel ban country as a strong “negative factor” when deciding your application, even if the pause is lifted. You can read more about this here.