Following an attack on National Guard members in Washington, D.C., the U.S. government, led by President Donald Trump, announced a significant review of the immigration status of all permanent residents, also known as Green Card holders, from Afghanistan and eighteen other countries.
The suspect in the shooting on Wednesday was named by U.S. officials as a 29-year-old Afghan national who had previously assisted American forces during U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan.
AfghanEvac, an organization that helps Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban’s civilian takeover in 2021, clarified that the suspect was awarded refuge earlier this year, not permanent status.
In a post on 𝕏 on Thursday, Joseph Edlow, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, confirmed the decision and said that the audit would cover all countries of concern.
Edlow declared, “I have ordered a thorough, comprehensive reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
The action comes after President Trump issued an executive order in June designating 19 nations as countries of identified concern.
Countries with Full and Partial Bans
According to reports, the presidential order prevented almost all citizens of 12 of the 19 countries—including Afghanistan—from entering.
The nations with a complete ban on admission are:
As part of the new immigration audit, Green Card holders who were originally from these nations will now have their status examined:
The Afghan
Chad, Myanmar
Brazzaville-Congo
Guinea’s Equatorial
Guinea’s Equatorial
Ethiopia
Iran, Haiti
Africa
Somalies
Syria
The Yemeni
Seven other nations are subject to a partial immigration ban, while special provisions allowed for temporary work visas.
Additionally, the following nations will be evaluated for permanent residents:
The Burundi
The Cuban
Leos
Leonean Sierra
Toya
The Turkmen
Bolivia
Bolivia
The particular issues under examination and the anticipated time frame for the review process have not been made public by the White House or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The administration did, however, allude to the possibility that the examination would cover other residency or visa issues related to military safety and national interest.
