The US freezes green cards for citizens of 19 countries: what caused it
3 December 2025 09:52
Donald Trump’s administration is preparing a large-scale tightening of US migration policy. The president said that the list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the United States will soon be expanded. These plans were reported by Bloomberg, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
Why the US is preparing new bans
The impetus for the revision of migration policy was the attack in Washington, D.C., where a U.S. Army soldier was killed. The suspect is a 29-year-old migrant from Afghanistan who arrived in the country in 2021. This incident caused a wave of criticism of the work of migration services.
According to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, the list of countries subject to the ban will be made public in the near future. Currently, there is a complete ban on entry for citizens of 12 countries and partial restrictions for seven others.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already announced the suspension of all immigration requests, including green card applications, from citizens of 19 countries that are already under restrictions.
A large-scale audit of permits issued after the start of the Biden administration is also being prepared.
Which countries are already under the migration ban
As of today, the United States completely bans entry to citizens of 12 countries:
- Afghanistan
- Chad
- Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Myanmar
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
Another seven countries have partial restrictions: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
According to Trump, this list will be “significantly expanded.”
Political motives and statements of the White House
The US President blames the previous administration for the “dangerous” migration policy and promises to
- expand the travel ban,
- review the citizenship of some naturalized migrants,
- restrict access to public benefits for non-citizens.
DHS Secretary Christie Noem called for a “complete travel ban” from countries she called sources of crime and illegal migration.
