All US Green Card applications now under intense scrutiny: What this means | World News

The United States will conduct a rigorous reexamination of every Green Card of all foreigners in the nation. The decision comes after the shooting of two National Guards in Washington DC on Wednesday, one of whom succumbed to her gunshot wounds. The shooting was allegedly carried out an Afghan National, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who had moved to the US in 2021 and had his stay extended.
Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Joseph B Edlow said on Thursday: “At the direction of the President of the United States, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
“My primary responsibility is to ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” he added in a statement.
The USCIS said in a statement that the Biden adminration had dismantled basic vetting and screening standards over the last four years and had prioritised the rapid resettlement of “aliens from high-risk countries” over the safety of American citizens.
What new vetting standards mean for immigrants
As per the USCIS, all Green Card holders will now be thoroughly scrutinised at the time of approval.
This includes an assessment of where they are coming from and what is their purpose in the United States.
The new policy, effective immediately, will come into force guidance that will authorise USCIS officers to consider country-specific factors as “significant negative factors” when reviewing immigration requests. Applications from a total of 19 countries will particularly be on the immigration officials’ radar. These are Afghanan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Lia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenan and Venezuela.Story continues below this ad
The US had already stopped processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals on Thursday immediately after the Washington DC attack.
Will this impact exing Green Card holders?
Although President Donald Trump on Thursday called for reassessment of all “aliens” in the US, the official USCIS policy is unlikely to impact the exing green card holders. The new policy will apply to all requests pending or filed on or after November 27, 2025.
Trump on Thursday had said: “We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country.”