The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has ordered an immediate halt to the processing of all pending asylum, immigration and naturalization applications filed by nationals of 19 countries— including Afghanistan — citing national security and public-safety concerns, according to a policy memorandum issued on December 2.
The internal directive, sent to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), requires officers to pause all Form I-589 asylum cases and all other pending benefit requests from applicants originating from what DHS labels “high-risk” countries. The list includes Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo and Turkmenistan.
USCIS officers have also been instructed to re-review previously approved applications for individuals from countries covered under an earlier presidential proclamation restricting entry over terrorism-related concerns. The memo says applicants may undergo additional security screening, interviews and assessments of potential inadmissibility.
The new halt comes as tens of thousands of Afghans remain in legal limbo more than four years after the 2021 collapse of the former government.
Afghans have one of the largest pending asylum backlogs in the United States, with many evacuees still waiting for decisions on asylum, parole extensions or Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications. Advocacy groups say processing delays have left families without permanent status and vulnerable to deportation if protections lapse.
US officials have not specified how long the freeze will last or whether it will affect humanitarian parole renewals for Afghans evacuated after the Taliban takeover. The directive states only that applications will remain on hold pending a “comprehensive review” of policies, procedures and security risks.
Human rights organisations warned that the suspension could disproportionately harm Afghans who fled Taliban reprisals, especially women, former soldiers, journalists and civil society workers.
The decision on immigrants come after last week’s shooting of two National Guard members near the White House by an Afghan national.
