Overview
- USCIS describes the pause as temporary to apply new background checks that draw on more federal crime data.
- Backed by a memo from the Trump administration, Director Joseph Edlow says the shift targets fraud and spokesperson Zach Kahler says processing continues even as decisions wait for the new checks.
- The pause covers green cards, work permits, and renewals for DACA and Temporary Protected Status, which could leave some people without timely work clearance or access to licenses.
- The step fits a wider review of about 12 million immigration files under Executive Order 14161, with the agency warning it may reexamine past green cards and naturalizations and adding stricter biometrics, social media and finance checks, and extra interviews through efforts like Operation Parris.
- Independent analyses report steep drops in approvals, especially for humanitarian cases, and link earlier suspensions of parole-related processing for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to a 463% jump in ICE arrests of Cuban nationals.