USCIS Suspends and Reviews High‑Risk Country Applications

Key Point  

• USCIS directed personnel to place holds and conduct comprehensive re‑reviews of asylum and benefit applications involving nationals from select countries  

Hold and Review of Pending Applications 

On December 2, 2025, USCIS released Policy Memorandum PM‑602‑0192 instructing personnel to: 

• Place a hold on all pending Forms I‑589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal). 
• Place a hold on pending benefit requests for nationals from the 19 countries listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949, regardless of entry date. 
• Conduct a comprehensive re‑review of approved benefit requests for nationals from those countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021.

For background on the proclamation itself and the full list of affected countries — Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen — see Envoy Global’s news alert here. 

USCIS will conduct a thorough, case-by-case review of all affected applicants, including mandatory interviews or re-interviews to assess national security and public safety concerns. Officers cannot waive interviews for this population.

These measures were originally announced in a USCIS news release on November 26, 2025.

The directive also acknowledges that adjudication delays will result from these measures but states that such delays are necessary to ensure maximum vetting. The hold will remain in effect until lifted by the USCIS Director through a subsequent memorandum. 

Related USCIS Guidance 

This memorandum complements the earlier USCIS Policy Alert PA‑2025‑26, which revised the Policy Manual to treat PP 10949 country‑specific factors as significant negative discretionary considerations. 

For background on the original presidential proclamation, see Envoy Global’s news alert: Executive Order Restricting the Entry of Certain Foreign Nationals into the U.S.

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