The United States government has temporarily suspended the processing of green card and citizenship applications filed by Nigerians and nationals of several other countries newly swept into an expanded US travel ban, according to a report by CBS News
The halt affects legal immigration applications handled by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and largely targets applicants from selected African and Asian countries. Many of those impacted are already living legally in the United States and were seeking to adjust their immigration status or complete the path to American citizenship.
The move follows an earlier directive issued in December by the Trump administration, ordering USCIS to freeze immigration petitions — including applications for permanent residency and naturalisation — from nationals of 19 countries listed under a travel ban announced in June.
That decision came in the aftermath of a Thanksgiving week shooting in Washington DC that left two National Guard soldiers dead. The attack was allegedly carried out by an Afghan national, prompting the administration to suspend asylum decisions handled by USCIS and to stop processing immigration and visa applications from Afghan nationals entirely.
This week, President Donald Trump widened the scope of the policy, adding 20 more countries to the travel ban. Under the new measures, entry from five countries is fully barred, while travel from 15 others faces partial restrictions.
A US official, speaking anonymously to CBS News on Friday, said USCIS has now extended the suspension of immigration case processing to nationals of the newly added countries, effectively placing thousands of pending applications in limbo.
The development has deepened uncertainty for immigrant communities already navigating an increasingly restrictive immigration system, raising questions about how long the freeze will last — and whether affected applicants will have any recourse as the policy continues to evolve.
