USCIS Policy Memo - Halting all asylum applications, pausing pending benefit applications, and re-reviewing approvals for the 19 countries listed in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10949
2 December 2025
Presidential Proclamation 10949 was issued on June 4th, 2025. Entitled, “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”, the proclamation listed 19 countries that would have restrictions placed on citizens seeking to enter the U.S. Twelve countries would be subject to full restrictions: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Seven countries would be subject to partial restrictions: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
On December 2, 2025, USCIS issued a policy memo halting the processing of all Asylum applications, regardless of the individual’s country of nationality, and pauses all pending benefit requests for individuals who list one of the 19 restricted countries as either their country of birth or their country of citizenship. It also imposes USCIS to conduct a thorough re-review of approved benefit requests for individuals from the 19 listed countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021.
This development could cause delays in processing of any USCIS applications for impacted individuals, such as OPT applications (Form I-765), Change of Status applications (Form I-539), Application to Register Permanent Resident or Adjust Status (Form I-485), and others.
If you were born in, or are a citizen of, one of the 19 countries, and have a pending application with USCIS, please consult with your school’s DSO or A/RO in the International Students Office on your campus regarding the impact of possible delays. Depending on your specific situation, you may wish to consult with an immigration attorney. You can contact our Help Desk if you have questions.
