Takeaways

  • The Trump Administration will review all green cards issued to individuals from 19 “countries of concern.”
  • The DHS has indefinitely stopped processing Afghan-related immigration requests.
  • President Trump stated his goal is to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries.”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joe Edlow recently announced a realignment of

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) August 2025 policy memorandum on naturalization applications demonstrates the agency’s heightened scrutiny in conferring citizenship and raises questions on how newly empowered officers will conduct their review. 

Citizenship is the final step in what can be a long and complicated journey for foreign nationals seeking immigration benefits. After

USCIS issued a grace period on March 8, 2025, for the dozen updated immigration forms it released in February and March 2025 and made effective immediately. These forms include the N-400 for naturalization, I-485 for adjustment of status, and I-131 for travel documents. Applicants may use the previous editions until the specified grace period ends.

USCIS is processing naturalization cases faster than they have in years, and the agency is managing to cut down on its naturalization backlog. Given the current average timing, eligible green card holders who applied early in the summer 2024 might be sworn in in time to vote in the upcoming November elections.

Of course, field