US Pauses Some Green Card Applications for More Vetting

The agencies said the new directive is to align with Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Queens office in the Long Island City neighborhood of New York City on May 30, 2013. John Moore/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday that the review of some green card applications is being paused for additional vetting, meaning affected individuals seeking lawful permanent residence will have their applications placed on hold.

Spokespersons for both the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and DHS confirmed the decision to The Epoch Times, releasing a statement that it implemented a “temporary pause on finalizing certain Adjustment of Status applications pending the completion of additional screening and vetting to identify potential fraud, public safety, or national security concerns.”

An adjustment of status is the process that a non-U.S. citizen can use to apply for lawful permanent residence within the United States, also known as applying for a green card, according to USCIS.

The new directive, the agencies said, is to align with President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order designed to protect the United States from potential national security, public safety, and terrorism threats. The move also falls under an executive order to designate Mexican cartels and several gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, they said.

The spokespersons did not provide more details about the pause, including who could face more vetting and screening, or whether the move is directed at specific countries of origin. It is also unclear how many applicants have been impacted.

One of the orders issued by Trump directs agencies to “vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.”

They are also required to “determine the information needed from any country to adjudicate any visa, admission, or other benefit under the [Immigration and Nationality Act] for one of its nationals, and to ascertain whether the individual seeking the benefit is who the individual claims to be and that the individual is not a security or public-safety threat,” the order stipulates.

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration can stop approving new refugees for entry into the United States but has to allow in people who were conditionally accepted before the president suspended the nation’s refugee admissions system.

The three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the president has the power to restrict people from entering the country, pointing to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling upholding Trump’s ban on travel from several countries during his first term.

The DHS last week revoked temporary legal status for more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans living in the United States. Other directives from Trump include increasing deportations and terminating the CBP One app service, ramping up immigration enforcement measures, and declaring a national emergency at the southern border.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.