On December 2, 2025, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) paused processing of several types of immigration applications, including asylum, green cards, and citizenship requests, for individuals from 19 countries previously restricted under the administration’s updated travel policies while USCIS conducts additional security reviews. The decision comes after an Afghan national, who had been granted humanitarian parole into the United States based on his work with CIA counterterrorism unit in Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul, and subsequently granted asylum in April 2025, under the Trump administration, was identified as the November 26th shooter in Washington, D.C., that killed one National Guard member and left another in critical condition.

On March 16, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced the designation of Afghanistan for temporary protected status (“TPS”) for eighteen months to help protect Afghan nationals in the United States from returning to unsafe conditions. Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas noted “TPS will also provide additional protections and assurances to trusted partners and vulnerable Afghans who supported the U.S. military, diplomatic, and humanitarian missions in Afghanistan over the last 20 years.” TPS designation is available to nationals of Afghanistan who are already residing in the United States as of March 15, 2022, and meet all other requirements, including undergoing security and background checks.