US government “All asylum decisions suspended” US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow made the announcement on Saturday.
next to, Ministry of Foreign Affairs The issuance of visas has been temporarily suspended For all the people who travel with afghan passports, This was announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio minutes ago. This action has an “immediate” effect.
“USCIS has suspended all asylum determinations so that we can ensure every alien is investigated and evaluated at the highest possible level,” Edlow said in a post on X. “The safety of the American people is always our priority,” the message continues.
USCIS has suspended all asylum processes until decisions are made that we can ensure every alien is screened and screened to the greatest extent possible. The safety of the American people always comes first.
– USCIS Director Joseph P. Edlo (@USCISJoe) November 28, 2025
The United States takes these measures following the President’s order Donald Trump To “stop” immigration from “third world countries” after the attack carried out by an Afghan citizen last Wednesday in Washington against two National Guard soldiers. One client has died, while the second remains in hospital in critical condition.
The alleged attacker is Rahmanullah Lakkanwal, 29. According to what US intelligence said on Saturday, he arrived in the country in 2021 in the program. Operation Allied Welcome, Which provided support to Afghan citizens after the US military withdrawal from the Asian country.
“Strict reviews” for every foreigner
So far, the Trump administration has conducted comprehensive investigations into foreigners who wanted to enter the United States from 19 countries the government considers “high-risk.”
The same agency had already announced on Thursday a “strict review” of residency cards, or Green cardsOf immigrants from countries such as Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela or Haiti.
In the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members, USCIS implemented additional security measures to “ensure every alien is screened and background checked to the greatest extent possible” in order to “more meaningfully assess whether the alien poses a threat to public safety and national security,” Edlow said.
Nearly 1.5 million asylum seekers had pending claims as of December 2024, according to the latest available figures obtained by the American Immigration Council (AIC).
The United States received more than 100,000 refugees in 2024, during the Biden administration, a record number in 30 years. One of the Trump administration’s first actions was to halt the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).
That is why he now blames his predecessor’s immigration policies for the entry of the alleged perpetrator, Rahmanullah Lakkanwal, and the subsequent attack.
Visas for Afghan citizens
“The State Department under President (Donald) Trump has stopped issuing visas to all individuals traveling on Afghan passports. The United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people,” were Rubio’s words on his social networks.
President Trump’s State Department has temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to all individuals traveling on Afghan passports.
The United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people. https://t.co/HuR1Lj7F9t
—Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) November 28, 2025
In June, Trump had already banned incoming flights “for national security purposes” from those same countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, in addition to restricting flights from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The Republican administration is making this decision despite US intelligence officials confirming this on Saturday However, they checked the background of Rahmanullah Lakkanwal before he arrived in the country This inspection was conducted so that he would cooperate in a military unit supported by the CIA In Afghanistan and not living in the United States.
The director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, said in a post on his social networks: “They searched him only to serve as a soldier to fight the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and ISIS in Afghanistan, and they did not check his suitability to come to the United States and live among us as a neighbor, integrate into our communities, or become a citizen at some point.”
However, according to washington post, Counter-terrorism authorities searched Lakanwal before he entered the United States He was granted asylum earlier this year, already in the Trump administration.