USCIS guidance issued affecting foreign nationals subject to travel ban proclamation, and all asylum applications

The Trump administration recently issued two policy memoranda with the objective of delaying or halting processing of certain immigration benefit application types, or all application types for certain foreign nationals.

USCIS Policy Alert PA-2025-26 issued on November 27, 2025 instructs officers to treat country-specific factors described in the June 4, 2025, Presidential Proclamation 10949 (PP10949 or travel ban proclamation) as significant negative factors in discretionary benefit decisions. Country-specific factors include but are not limited to, insufficient vetting and screening information that limits USCIS’s ability to assess risks posed by foreign national applicants from the targeted countries. This guidance will affect USCIS adjudication of cases involving discretion, such as I485 adjustment of status cases, waiver, I765 employment authorization, and I129/I539 nonimmigrant applications for extension or change of status.

USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192 issued on December 2, 2025 places the following applications on hold:

• All pending asylum applications (Form I-589) regardless of the applicant’s nationality, are to be placed on hold for comprehensive review.

• All pending benefit requests (such as green cards or travel documents) from individuals born in or citizens of 19 countries listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949 are also placed on hold. Also, previously approved benefit requests for individuals from these countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021, will be re-reviewed, possibly requiring mandatory interviews or re-interviews. 

  
  

• For a description of PP10949 and the list of 19 countries, see our prior news alert at Travel Ban Proclamation Effective June 9, 2025.