The United States government has suspended citizenship ceremonies and frozen all immigration applications connected to 19 countries currently under a White House travel ban, according to an internal memo obtained by reporters.
The directive instructs immigration officers to “stop final adjudication on all cases” involving applicants from the affected countries, effectively pausing naturalisation ceremonies for individuals who were only days away from becoming U.S. citizens. The move comes amid reports that President Donald Trump is considering expanding the June travel restrictions from 19 countries to 30.
The suspension represents the latest tightening of U.S. immigration controls following last week’s shooting in Washington, D.C., which left one National Guard soldier dead and another critically injured. The suspect, an Afghan national residing in the United States, had entered the country through a special programme for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces before the Taliban’s return to power.
The 19 affected countries—mostly located in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean—were placed under full or partial immigration restrictions on June 4. On Tuesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) extended the freeze to every stage of immigration processing for applicants from those nations.
The memo stated: “This hold includes all form types and making any final decisions (approvals, denials) as well as completing any oath ceremonies.”
USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser confirmed the suspension to the New York Times, saying: “The Trump administration is making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right.”
Immigration lawyers across the U.S. reported that clients from Venezuela, Iran, and Afghanistan had their long-awaited naturalisation interviews abruptly cancelled this week. A citizenship ceremony, which typically concludes years of vetting and application procedures, allows successful applicants to take the oath of allegiance and formally become American citizens.
The White House has increasingly framed migrants and refugees as contributors to what President Trump has described as the nation’s “social dysfunction.” In the wake of the deadly shooting, the administration has intensified its scrutiny of asylum seekers and ordered a review of green cards previously granted to individuals from travel-ban countries.
As the new directive takes effect nationwide, thousands of aspiring citizens now face indefinite delays in completing their journey toward American citizenship.
