The United States has suspended accepting immigration applications from 19 countries

According to officials from relevant institutions, the Trump administration has suspended all immigration applications from the 19 countries that were banned from entering the United States earlier this year.

The New York Times reported that the list includes Iran, Sudan, Eritrea, Haiti, Somalia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Laos, Yemen, Chad, Libya, Sierra Leone, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Cuba, Venezuela, Congo and Burundi.

A spokesperson for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Tragther, confirmed on Tuesday (December 2nd) the suspension of naturalization applications. The Trump administration is doing its utmost to ensure that all naturalizers are the best people. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right. When the future of our country is at stake, we will never take risks.

This suspension involves multiple immigration procedures, among which the most affected are green card applications and applications for U.S. citizenship. Immigration lawyers reported that both naturalization ceremonies and immigration status interviews have been cancelled. They said that some immigrants were denied access to interviews for green card and other relief applications on Tuesday without any explanation, which left them puzzled.

The Trump administration recently announced a series of major reforms to the immigration system, including reviewing green cards issued to citizens of countries with travel bans, suspending the approval of asylum applications, and re-evaluating asylum applications issued during the Biden administration.

Department of Homeland Security officials said that these major reforms are aimed at strengthening the review of people who have already entered the country.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted on social media this week: "Anything is possible until the maximum degree of review and screening is conducted on all foreigners."