The United States government has temporarily suspended the processing of green card and citizenship applications filed by Nigerians and nationals of other countries newly added to the US travel ban, according to a report by CBS News.
The suspension affects legal immigration applications handled by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and primarily targets immigrants from selected African and Asian countries.
Many of those impacted are already living legally in the United States and were in the process of adjusting their immigration status or applying for American citizenship.
Earlier in December, the Trump administration directed USCIS to freeze all immigration petitions — including applications for permanent residency and naturalisation — from nationals of 19 countries covered by the travel ban announced in June.
The decision followed the Thanksgiving-week shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC, an attack allegedly carried out by an Afghan national.
In response to the incident, the administration also suspended decisions on asylum cases handled by USCIS and halted the processing of all immigration and visa applications filed by Afghan nationals.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump further expanded the travel ban to include 20 additional countries, fully barring entry from five nations and imposing partial restrictions on 15 others.
A US official, who spoke to CBS News on Friday on condition of anonymity, said USCIS has now extended the suspension of immigration cases to cover nationals of the newly added countries.
Affected countries
Countries under a full travel ban are:
Burkina Faso
Mali
Niger
South Sudan
Syria
Countries facing partial travel restrictions include:
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Benin
Côte d’Ivoire
Dominica
Gabon
Gambia
Malawi
Mauritania
Nigeria
Senegal
Tanzania
Tonga
Zambia
Zimbabwe