US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that his administration will reassess the immigration status of every permanent resident or Green Card holder from Afghanistan and 18 other countries. The directive comes in the aftermath of an attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.
The announcement coincided with new guidance from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which tightened vetting procedures after two National Guard members were shot by an Afghan national who arrived in the United States in 2021.
Hours later, on Friday, Trump further declared that his administration would seek to “permanently halt” immigration from what he described as “Third World countries.”
USCIS Tightens Screening Standards: Which Countries Are On The List
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the updated policy gives immigration officers broader authority to treat an applicant’s country of origin as a significant negative factor when assessing eligibility for immigration benefits.
“My primary responsibility is to ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” Edlow stated. “American lives come first.”
According to officials, the 19 countries affected mirror those listed in a presidential proclamation issued in June imposing full or partial entry suspensions.
What is US Green Card?
Edlow said the new measures were a direct response to the “horrific events” in Washington and accused the Biden administration of having “spent four years dismantling basic vetting and screening standards” while accelerating resettlement from high-risk nations.
A US Green Card, formally known as a Permanent Resident Card, grants lawful permanent residence, allowing the holder to live and work in the United States indefinitely. It also offers a pathway to citizenship after a specified period, typically three to five years.
Will Indian Green Card Holders Be Impacted?
Indian nationals living in the United States will not be affected by the new crackdown.
The revised policy applies exclusively to Green Card holders and applicants from 19 designated “high-risk countries.” These nations are:
Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.
These are the same countries included in Trump’s travel-ban-style proclamation issued in June. USCIS, part of the Department of Homeland Security, noted that the policy shift is already in effect and applies to all relevant immigration requests pending or filed from November 27 onward.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
