On December 2, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum, "Hold and Review of all Pending Asylum Applications and all USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from High-Risk Countries." The memorandum included the following directives, which go into effect immediately:

• A hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the alien’s country of nationality or citizenship
• A hold on pending benefit requests for nationals whose country of birth or country of citizenship is included in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10949, Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, pending a comprehensive review, regardless of the person's date of entry into the U.S.
• A comprehensive re-review of approved benefit requests for aliens from countries listed in PP 10949 who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021.

The countries included in Presidential Proclamation 10949 include Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra, Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

In the memo, USCIS directs that any person "meeting these criteria undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats along with any other related grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility."

The memo does not fully explain what types of “benefits requests” would be subject to a processing hold. Among those requests that are explicitly mentioned are Form I-485 for adjustment of status, Form I-90 for green card replacements, Form I-765 for removing conditions on permanent residency, Form I-131 for travel documents including advance parole, and Form N-470 for preserving residence for naturalization. However, this list may not be exhaustive and other types of applications, and other types of immigration benefits (including I-765 applications for employment authorization, including OPT, as well as I-129 applications for H-1B or O-1 status) may also be affected. Because this is a developing situation, International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) will provide additional information when it becomes available.

If you are a student or scholar from one of the 19 countries included in the PP 10949 travel ban, and have a pending immigration benefits request, please contact your ISSS advisor for more information.