Aaron Reichlin Melnick has posted today’s memorandum (12/2/25) from USCIS calling for a suspension of dealing with all asylum applications and all “benefit applications”. The memorandum refers to the June 6 2025 “Presidential Action” which lists 19 counttries of concern. The suspension applies to all 19 countries.

The memoradum does not say that prior approvals are to be reviewed — as President Trump says he wants done. Since Trump is trying the subject the entire foreign-born population to review and possible expulsation, it’s woth spending a moment to parse the law.

“Benefit applications” is a formal term which includes all applications that USCIS adjudicates, including green card and citizenship applications.

As noted a few days ago, immigration law prohibits nationality from using used in specific immigration decisions: “No person shall receive any preference or priority or be discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence.” The prohibition applies only to “immigrant visas” and not to green cards, citizenship and certain other applications. The focus on immigrant visas (family, employment, humanitarian, diversity) appears to be due to the removal in 1965 of nationality quotas. It would appear that special immigrant visas issues to Iraqis and Afghan are covered by the prohibition. Some 175,000 such visas have been issued.