Immigrants & Immigration

This means USCIS has decided to not make any final decisions on new or pending cases. USCIS will not approve or deny To refuse or say no any of the applicable cases.

A pause on final decisions means that other parts of the case will still proceed. This includes the scheduling of biometrics appointments and interviews. People must appear for any appointments USCIS schedules for them during the pause. USCIS will just not make a final decision on the case until after the pause lifts.

Pending asylum applications

Beginning December 2, 2025, all pending asylum cases with USCIS are paused. The pause applies to pending applications from people of all countries. Even if someone’s asylum application has been pending for a long time, the final decision is still paused.

Diversity visa holders with pending adjustment of status applications

A person who enters on a diversity visa may apply for adjustment of status. This means they are applying to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR or green card holder). As of December 19, 2025, pending adjustment of status applications filed by diversity visa holders are paused. This pause applies to the processing of the main Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and other forms that might have been filed with the adjustment of status application. This can include an application for employment authorization (Form I-765), a request for advance parole A release from prison. It allows someone to serve time outside of prison as long as they follow certain conditions. (Form I-131), an application for an inadmissibility waiver A document that gives up a legal right or excuses a requirement (Form I-601), and others.

The pause applies to all diversity visa holders, regardless of their nationality.

Note: The Diversity Visa program was suspended on December 23, 2025. The Department of State (DOS) is no longer granting visas under this program.

Refugees with pending adjustment of status applications

Refugees may apply for LPR status after one year of being in refugee status. Any pending adjustment of status applications filed by refugees between January 21, 2021 and February 20, 2025 are now paused. No final decisions will be made for adjustment of status applications filed between those dates by refugees. The pause applies to all refugees, regardless of their nationality.

Pending applications for nationals of the DOS travel bans

Starting January 1, 2026, all pending USCIS applications are paused for people from the below countries (sorted by region). They can be referred to as the “travel ban countries.”

Africa

• Angola
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Chad
• Republic of the Congo
• Côte d’Ivoire
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Gabon
• The Gambia
• Libya
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Nigeria
• Niger
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Tanzania
• Togo
• Tonga
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Asia/Middle East

• Afghanistan
• Burma (Myanmar)
• Iran
• Laos
• Syria
• Turkmenistan
• Yemen
• People with Palestinian Authority–issued travel documents

Central and South America/Caribbean Islands

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Cuba
• Dominica
• Haiti
• Venezuela

This means that no one from these places can receive a final decision on a pending USCIS application. These countries are all listed as part of the travel ban in place by the DOS.

Limited exceptions apply only to the pause for countries that are part of the DOS travel ban. This means that USCIS is allowed to make final decisions on these cases. It does not necessarily mean that these cases will be approved. They may be denied.

Green card renewals (Form I-90) and requests for a replacement citizenship certificate (Form N-565) will continue to be processed for people from the travel ban countries. Requests for certificates of citizenship based on birth outside of the US (Form N-600) will also be processed for everyone except for people from Yemen and Somalia.

Certain employment authorization (EAD or work permit) applications are allowed to get a final decision:

• First-time applicants applying based on a pending asylum claim, and
• EADs filed at the request of law enforcement because the applicant is helping law enforcement.

Some other cases can get final decisions, even if they are nationals of a banned country. These include:

• Members of an athletic team traveling to participate in the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event named by the Secretary of State,
• Benefit requests made by ICE on behalf of a non-citizen, for law enforcement purposes, and to uphold public safety or national security,
• Benefit requests made by people whose entry would serve Giving court documents to someone a US national interest (for example, a scientist or medical research working on a critical public health project), or
• When a case gets automatically closed because a program is terminated, or they obtain another status like LPR or citizenship.

USCIS states the travel ban countries do not have good processes for screening their own nationals. It says the lack of good processes in these countries leads them to miss people who might be threats to the national security and public safety of the US.

Yes. The current pauses only stop USCIS from making a final decision on an application. They do not prevent people subject to these pauses from filing new applications.

Consider speaking to a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice about your individual case if you want to file a new application that’s a part of these pauses.

Other parts of the case should still be moving. For example, biometrics appointments and interviews will be scheduled. People must appear for any appointments USCIS schedules for them during the pause. USCIS will just not make a final decision on the case until after the pause is lifted.

Even though the policy lets the other parts of cases continue to proceed, the pause in final decisions likely means the other parts of the process will be slowed or delayed.

This means USCIS is going to review cases that have already been closed. They can decide to interview or re-interview people whose cases have already been closed. USCIS can also ask for more evidence. Anything used to show that something is true They can also come to a different conclusion. For example, they can decide to deny To refuse or say no a previously-approved case after re-review.

All prior cases from the travel ban countries approved on or after January 20, 2021 will be re-reviewed. This date coincides with the beginning of the Biden presidential administration. These cases are being re-reviewed for the same reason cases from these countries are paused. USCIS says that the named countries don’t have adequate vetting and screening in their countries. The re-review is to examine national security and public safety concerns.

All refugee approvals from January 21, 2021 through February 20, 2025 will be re-reviewed. USCIS is reviewing these cases to make sure that the approvals were legally sufficient at the time.

USCIS has not given an end date for any of the pauses currently in effect. This means these pauses will go on indefinitely until a new policy is put in place.