On December 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated guidance effectively suspending the processing of immigration benefits for citizens of 19 countries subject to the June 4, 2025 Presidential Proclamation, “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” Effective immediately, USCIS will consider relevant, country-specific facts and circumstances as part of its adjudication of discretionary benefit requests, such as adjustment of status applications, extensions of stay, change of status requests, naturalization applications and asylum applications. Citizens of the following countries labeled high risk will have their applications put on hold until further notice:
USCIS has indicated that it will conduct a comprehensive re-review and potential re-interview of approved benefit requests for individuals from the above list of countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021. This includes creating a prioritized list of individuals requiring re-review within 90 days of the policy’s implementation and, if necessary, referral to immigration enforcement or other law enforcement agencies. Additionally, the updated USCIS guidance indicates that this policy may also extend to individuals who were granted immigration benefits outside of this time frame (i.e., before January 20, 2021). There is also potential for additional countries to be added to this policy as deemed necessary.
The memorandum incorporates by reference Presidential Proclamation 10949 of June 4, 2025. That Proclamation, which went into effect on June 9, 2025, barred the entry to the United States of nationals of the following 12 countries as both immigrants and nonimmigrants if they were outside of the U.S. on the effective date of the Proclamation:
In addition, it suspended entry of nationals from the following countries to the U.S. as immigrants or as nonimmigrants in B (visitor), F (student), M (vocational students), and J (exchange visitors) statuses, but not in other nonimmigrant classifications:
In addition, the June 4, 2025, Proclamation provided the following exceptions to both aforementioned entry suspensions:
Section four of the Proclamation also provided the attorney general and secretary of state with the authority to make additional exceptions for individuals in the national interest.
The USCIS memorandum of December 2, 2025, does not include the aforementioned exceptions. It also makes no distinction between nationals of the 12 countries subject to the full travel ban and nationals of the seven countries subject to a partial travel ban. Nationals of all 19 countries are subject to the same suspension of benefits adjudications. It should also be noted that the December 2 memo, in Footnote three, states that it applies to those who were born in or are a citizen of one of the 19 countries. This indicates that the exception in the June 4, 2025, Proclamation for dual nationals who enter the U.S. using a passport from a non-banned country expressly does not apply to the USCIS memorandum regarding suspension of benefits adjudications.1
It should be noted that the memorandum is binding on USCIS officers but does not expressly apply to other agencies. Thus, it is unclear whether a labor certification or PERM pending with the U.S. Department of Labor will be adjudicated for nationals of the 19 countries. It is also unclear whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will refuse to adjudicate benefits requests for nationals of the affected countries. For example, if a dual national of Canada and Iran were to apply for a TN at the port of entry, it is unclear at this time whether CBP would refuse to adjudicate it.
The December 2 memo does not bar the filing of benefits applications by or on behalf of nationals of the 19 countries; it only instructs USCIS not to adjudicate them. It is therefore important for those affected by the travel ban to continue to timely file applications to extend or change status when their current status is expiring. I-485 applications for adjustment of status may also be filed by those subject to the memo. That said, anyone who was born in or who is a national of one of the affected countries should expect extreme delays with adjudications.
The June 4, 2025, Proclamation remains in effect without change. Those subject to it should avoid international travel.
Additional Assistance
For more information, please contact a member of our Immigration Practice Team or the Phillips Lytle attorney with whom you have a relationship.
1 The USCIS policy announced in the December 2, 2025 memorandum violates BIA precedent decision, Matter of Ognibene, 18 I&N Dec. 453 (BIA 1983), which holds that when a dual national enters the United States as a nonimmigrant, the nationality claimed at the time of entry “must be regarded, for the purposes of section 214 of the Act, as his sole or operative nationality for the duration of his temporary stay in the United States.”
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