UPDATE:
AS OF FEBRUARY 16, 2026
Following our article below, posted on December 4, 2025, the administration issued a suspension on entry to the United States on December 16, 2025 that expanded the earlier June 4, 2025 partial and full travel banned countries.
The administration then issued an updated (current) January 1, 2026 USCIS Policy Memorandum (PM-602-0194), encompassing both travel bans along with its earlier USCIS adjudications pause with a few updates.
A FULL list of the countries currently subject to the USCIS adjudications pause, subject to certain exceptions, is now summarized here:
Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Republic of the Congo, 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, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Individuals with Palestinian Authority-issued or -endorsed travel documents.
Several exceptions are listed on the current January 1, 2026 USCIS adjudications pause Memorandum (meaning the below situations are not subject to the pause):
- Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)
- Form N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document
- Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship
- Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization filed under the (c)(8) (initial only), limited (c)(11) and limited (c)(14) categories (when initiated by law enforcement)
- Form I-910, Application for Civil Surgeon Designation (only for physicians that are citizens or nationals of the United States)
- Benefit requests filed by any alien who is an athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives for purpose of participating in the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by Secretary of State
- Benefit requests that are a priority for law enforcement and where ICE has requested USCIS take adjudicative action to uphold public safety or national security
- Benefit requests filed by aliens whose entry would serve a United States national interest
- Benefit requests, as well as the associated underlying benefits, for any programs that are terminated or discontinued as a result of an Executive Order, Proclamation, Federal Register Notice, or Directive issued by the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the USCIS Director; and
- Automatic termination decisions for ancillary or related benefit requests when an alien is granted Legal Permanent Resident status or becomes a naturalized citizen
The January 1, 2026 Memorandum indicates guidance on some procedures will be issued within 90 days. Nilan Johnson Lewis will continue monitoring.
December 4, 2025
On June 4, 2025, the White House issued a Presidential Proclamation imposing travel restrictions on 19 countries, which became effective on June 9, 2025. The proclamation implemented full or partial suspensions on the entry of foreign nationals from the countries listed below.
On December 2, 2025, the Office of the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum directing USCIS personnel to immediately:
- place a hold on all Form I-589 applications for asylum and withholding of removal;
- place a hold on pending benefit requests involving foreign nationals from the 19 countries; and
- conduct a re-review of approved benefit requests for foreign nationals from the 19 countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021.
Additional information is below. However, significant uncertainties remain, including the scope of the Policy Memorandum, the duration of the holds, and how USCIS will implement the directive.
What are the 19 countries listed in the June 9, 2025 travel ban?
The June 9, 2025 proclamation imposed full or partial entry suspensions for the following countries:
Full travel ban
- Afghanistan
- Burma
- Chad
- Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
Partial travel ban
- Burundi
- Cuba
- Laos
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Venezuela
What are USCIS personnel directed to do in the new USCIS Policy Memorandum?
The Policy Memorandum directs USCIS personnel to take three primary actions:
- Hold all Form I-589 applications for asylum and withholding of removal, regardless of nationality, pending a comprehensive review.
- Hold pending benefit requests involving foreign nationals from the 19 countries, pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date.
- Re-review approved benefit requests for foreign nationals from the 19 countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021.
When did the Policy Memorandum directive go into effect?
The directive is effective December 2, 2025.
Does the pause on pending asylum applications apply only to the 19 countries covered by the travel ban?
No. The Policy Memorandum states that the hold on Form I-589 asylum and withholding applications applies regardless of country of nationality. Until additional guidance is issued, the pause appears to apply to all countries.
Does this mean foreign nationals cannot file asylum or withholding of removal applications?
The Policy Memorandum does not prohibit individuals from filing or submitting applications. It also states that a “hold on pending benefit requests” does not include USCIS screenings for credible fear, reasonable fear, safe third country, third country removal, or threshold screenings under the Asylum Cooperative Agreements.
What types of benefit requests are impacted by the Policy Memorandum?
The Policy Memorandum explicitly places a hold on all Form I-589 asylum and withholding applications.
The scope of the second directive (a hold on pending “benefit requests” for foreign nationals from the 19 countries) is not explicitly stated in the Policy Memorandum. It is also unclear because the memorandum uses some different terminology. For example, it broadly references “benefit requests,” which could include employer-sponsored nonimmigrant petitions (such as H-1B, L-1, or O-1 petitions). However, the subject line refers to “Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens,” which typically means applications filed by foreign national individuals.
That said, employer-sponsored petitions are typically treated as “benefit requests.” Based on the language used, it is reasonable to anticipate that the directive may apply to both:
- individual benefit applications (for example, Form I-485), and
- employer-sponsored nonimmigrant petitions filed on behalf of foreign nationals from the 19 countries (for example, an H-1B or L-1 extension petition).
Does the hold on benefit requests apply to dual nationals with passports from a non-banned country?
It appears so.
As noted above, the hold on Form I-589 applications applies regardless of nationality.
For the second directive regarding pending benefit requests, the Policy Memorandum states: “This applies to aliens who list one of the 19 high-risk countries as their Country of Birth or Country of Citizenship.”
As a result, some dual nationals may be exempt from the June 9 travel restrictions if they hold a valid passport from a non-banned country, but could still be subject to the USCIS hold under the Policy Memorandum if they list a covered country as their country of birth or citizenship.
How long will the directive remain in place?
The Policy Memorandum states that the hold will remain in effect until lifted by the USCIS Director through a subsequent memorandum.
Considerations for employers sponsoring foreign nationals from one of the 19 countries:
- Employers planning to file company-sponsored nonimmigrant petitions (such as H-1B, L-1, or O-1) for foreign nationals from one of the 19 countries should consult immigration counsel regarding potential processing holds or delays, including whether any automatic work authorization extensions may apply and about regular versus premium processing
- In appropriate cases, employers may also consider including favorable discretionary evidence in petitions (for example, H-1B, L-1, or O-1), particularly in light of recent guidance that may allow adjudicators to consider country-specific circumstances (including those referenced in the proclamation) as part of adjudication. Employers should consult immigration counsel regarding case-specific strategy.
Nilan Johnson Lewis P.A. will continue to monitor developments.
Attorney & Head, Corporate Immigration