Visa for USA. Photo credit: Ink Drop / Alamy / Profimedia
The director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Thursday that, at the direction of President Donald Trump, he ordered a review of all residence permits issued to people from countries “of concern”. The decision comes after the attack committed in Washington by an Afghan against two members of the National Guard.
“At the direction of the president, I have ordered the complete and rigorous re-examination of every green card for every foreigner from every country that raises reasons for concern,” wrote the USCIS director, Joe Edlow, in a post on X, according to CNN, quoted by News.ro.
When asked to provide additional details, including which countries are considered to be of “reason for concern,” USCIS told CNN the 19 countries were listed in a June presidential executive order.
Citizens of 12 countries will no longer be able to enter the US from Monday, Trump decided – LIST / Restrictions for 7 other countries
The 19 countries are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
For its part, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told CNN on Thursday that it is reviewing all asylum cases approved by the Biden administration.
The suspect arrested for Wednesday's attack in the American capital had come to the country in 2021 as part of the “Allies Welcome” operation, after helping the US in Afghanistan. However, he was only granted asylum in April this year, during the Trump administration.
A U.S. official told CNN that the suspect had “cleared all background checks” before working with the government and again before coming to the United States.
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