The Trump administration is preparing a new immigration policy that could make it significantly harder for immigrants from countries on the president's travel-ban list to secure green cards and other benefits, according to internal documents from the Department of Homeland Security reviewed by The New York Times.
Under the draft guidance, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would treat "country-specific factors" tied to the travel ban as "significant negative factors" when evaluating a wide range of immigration requests, the Times reported Friday.
While the policy is still being worked out, it would apply to several types of discretionary applications, including green cards, asylum, parole, and other statuses.
The move marks a major expansion of the administration's long-running effort to tighten immigration controls and apply stricter scrutiny to nations the White House says lack reliable security, screening, or document-verification systems.
If implemented, the shift would affect not only future arrivals but also those living in the United States who came before the ban, the report said.
It also follows the administration's broader initiative to reduce various forms of legal immigration. Last month, the White House lowered the annual refugee cap, turning away thousands fleeing war or persecution while reserving slots for certain groups, including white Afrikaner South Africans.
President Donald Trump issued the latest travel ban in June, blocking most travel from 12 nations — primarily in Africa and the Middle East: Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Seven other countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela — face partial restrictions that bar permanent entry or certain visa types.
When announcing the ban, Trump said a recent domestic terrorist attack showed the "extreme dangers" posed by admitting foreign nationals who are not thoroughly vetted, adding that some countries pose a higher risk of visa overstays.
There are exceptions for current visa holders, permanent residents, athletes traveling for the 2026 World Cup or 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and eligible Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants.
According to the documents, U.S. officials say some nations do not reliably share security information or lack rigorous systems for issuing passports and other official papers — issues that directly affect the agency's ability to verify identities or documents in immigration cases.
USCIS has also expanded its social media vetting and checks for "anti-American activity." The agency says it conducted more than 12,500 individual social media reviews in fiscal year 2025.
Michael Valverde, a former senior USCIS official, told the Times that although the agency has long struggled with hard-to-verify documents from certain countries, treating those difficulties as a default negative factor is new.
He questioned whether applicants could realistically overcome such a barrier — or whether the policy would function as a "de facto ban."
In the draft, USCIS acknowledges it does not yet know how the change would affect denial rates.
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