The Trump administration’s pause on processing many visa, green card, work permit and naturalization applications has left hundreds of thousands of people in limbo. The hold applies to people born in 39 countries — including Nigeria, Myanmar and Venezuela — and was announced after a late‑November shooting in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan national. The administration paired the pause with broader travel restrictions on those countries.
About five months after the policy began, applicants and families report sudden financial insecurity, lost jobs and academic opportunities, and mounting anxiety about whether they can lawfully live and work in the United States. NPR spoke with more than a dozen affected people; most asked to be identified only by initials because they fear negative effects on their immigration cases.
Who is affected
The pause targets applicants born in the 39 designated countries. Officials said some countries were listed for alleged links to terrorism or for poor cooperation with U.S. authorities, while others were added for high visa‑overstay rates. Roughly half the countries face only partial restrictions that allow limited travel under specific visa categories, but those exemptions generally do not help people already in the U.S. trying to renew status or work authorization.
The consequences reach well beyond the immigrant community. U.S. citizens waiting to secure green cards for foreign‑born spouses face delayed family reunification; employers in health care, energy, technology and higher education are losing critical staff; and industries that rely on foreign talent could see long‑term harm. Advocates note foreign‑born workers hold STEM jobs at slightly higher rates than U.S.‑born workers, citing National Science Foundation data.
Real‑world impacts
Affected applicants describe stalled promotions, rescinded job offers, lost medical residency slots, unpaid bills and the impossibility of accepting employment while their cases remain frozen.
– A, born in Myanmar, who has led a cancer clinical research team in Ohio since 2016, had a promotion pending but cannot renew her work authorization while processing is paused. She says years of effort toward career advancement are suddenly out of reach because of her birthplace.
– M, born in Nigeria, matched to a surgery residency in Oregon but saw visa and work‑permit processing freeze while her residency slot depended on that paperwork. She said the uncertainty was devastating after matching to a program.
– P, who arrived in 2023 with a master’s in engineering, was forced to decline multiple job offers because his work authorization cannot be processed; he reports struggling to afford basic expenses.
Some applicants paid up to $3,000 for expedited “premium processing” intended to speed decisions. Critics say those fees were collected while cases sat unprocessed, calling it a government windfall. David Bier of the Cato Institute called the situation a scam and estimated premium‑processing revenues top $1 billion.
Administration rationale and supporters
DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) say the pause is necessary while they implement enhanced vetting and screening procedures. A Homeland Security official told NPR that verifying identities and personal histories from multiple countries requires a rigorous process and that adjudications for nationals of designated countries were paused while those measures are put in place.
Supporters say the policy signals the U.S. will not treat immigration benefits as automatic for applicants they consider higher risk or from countries that do not cooperate on travel and immigration matters. Conservative advocates frame the pauses as security‑driven and aimed at preventing program abuse.
That stance contrasts with campaign remarks by President Trump in 2024 favoring automatic green cards for foreign students who graduate from U.S. universities. After returning to office, administration policy has shifted toward restricting legal immigration and proposing measures such as a $100,000 fee for certain high‑skilled visas.
Scope, litigation and legal risk
The pause’s scale is large. An NPR analysis found nearly 12 million applications awaiting a USCIS decision, with about 247,000 not yet opened. Immigration attorney Zachary New, who represents more than 500 affected clients, estimates roughly half of all USCIS applications are affected by travel‑ban‑linked pauses, including spousal sponsorships, employment authorizations and DACA renewals.
At least 33 lawsuits challenge the holds. In one preliminary injunction, a federal judge in Northern California ordered USCIS to reach decisions by May 18 on work‑authorization cases for 31 Iranian citizens and one Sudanese citizen; Judge Susan van Keulen observed the government was making inconsistent legal arguments, at times saying USCIS has a duty to timely adjudicate applications and at other times treating holds as indefinite.
Legal advocates warn that indefinite holds can let people’s legal status lapse, exposing them to detention and removal. Faced with prolonged uncertainty, some applicants are preparing worst‑case responses: selling homes, separating families, returning to countries they fled, or trying to extend student status to remain lawful while they wait.
U.S. citizens and families affected
U.S. citizens also experience collateral harm when foreign‑born spouses’ petitions are frozen. Isaac Narvaez Gomez, a U.S. citizen from Venezuela, says his wife’s permanent‑resident paperwork was put on hold and, even after some pauses were lifted, interconnected forms remain stalled; the couple cannot complete basic steps like joint bank accounts or adding her to health insurance.
People with complex nationality histories report being ensnared by rules that don’t account for dual citizenship, long U.S. ties, or persecution at home. An assistant professor in North Carolina who was born in Iran, holds Canadian citizenship, and has lived in and out of the U.S. for more than a decade said he and his wife face a green‑card stop despite long contributions to American higher education.
Broader enforcement trend
Lawyers and advocates say the pause is part of a broader Department of Homeland Security emphasis on interior enforcement and re‑reviewing previously approved cases. Over the past year, DHS has pursued steps to strip permission to remain, re‑examine prior approvals and slow naturalizations — moves that increase the risk of deportation for people already inside the country.
New advises clients to preserve savings and consider contingency plans: pursuing additional degrees to extend student status, arranging for family support, or preparing for separation. “These are people trying to do things the right way,” he said. “By suddenly removing the lawful pathway, folks are panicking: losing jobs, medical placements, and legal status — harms that won’t disappear when processing resumes.”
Outlook
The pause remains legally contested and administratively fluid. DHS and USCIS maintain the measures are temporary and required for improved vetting; opponents say the holds are indefinite in practice and produce immediate, severe harm to people and employers. With millions of applications pending, the policy’s ripple effects extend far beyond those born in the designated countries, affecting families, universities, hospitals and communities across the United States.