The Trump administration’s pause on reviewing visa, green card, work permit and citizenship applications for people born in 39 countries has left hundreds of thousands — and potentially millions — in legal and economic limbo.
The interim policy, tied to a travel ban enacted after an Afghan national shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., halted adjudications for people born in countries from Nigeria to Myanmar and Venezuela. Officials say the pause is needed while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) strengthens screening and vetting. Critics say it arbitrarily denies people their legal pathways and risks deportations.
Those affected describe sudden unemployment, lost promotions and educational and professional opportunities, plus the anxiety of not knowing whether their legal status will lapse. NPR interviewed more than a dozen people who requested anonymity, using only initials in their accounts.
A, a cancer clinical research team leader from Myanmar working in Ohio since 2016, said her expected promotion evaporated when USCIS paused her work authorization renewal. “Something I’ve been working really hard towards for the last few years is now going to be out of reach just because of where I was born,” she said.
M, who came from Nigeria in 2011 for undergraduate and graduate study and matched to a surgical residency in Oregon, saw her visa and work-permit processing freeze. Her pending work authorization may keep her from starting residency. “I cried so much the day after my match,” she said, describing grief at losing a milestone while classmates celebrated.
P, an engineering master’s graduate in Texas who arrived in 2023, said he’s had to turn down multiple job offers because his work permit cannot be processed. “I barely can feed [myself]. I barely can pay bills,” he said.
Some applicants paid up to $3,000 for premium processing — a service that guarantees faster decisions — only to have those requests stalled. David Bier of the Cato Institute estimated the government has received over $1 billion in premium-processing fees that have not produced decisions.
The pause has ripple effects across U.S. industries that rely on foreign-born workers, including health care, technology, energy and academia. Foreign-born workers make up a substantial share of STEM fields and other specialized roles; employers report losing personnel and being unable to hire qualified candidates.
The policy also affects U.S. citizens seeking permanent residence for immigrant spouses. Isaac Narvaez Gomez, a U.S. citizen born in Venezuela, said his wife — who holds Venezuelan, Italian and Uruguayan citizenships — faced a freeze on a green-card petition because the application asks for country of birth. Though some holds have been lifted for their case, other paperwork remains stalled, keeping basic life steps — joint accounts, insurance, house buying, family planning — on hold.
The administration frames the pause as national-security necessary. A Homeland Security spokesperson said verifying identities and histories from designated countries “requires a rigorous process” and that USCIS paused adjudications to ensure maximum vetting. Supporters argue the measure signals that U.S. immigration is not an entitlement for high-risk applicants from countries that do not cooperate on travel and immigration issues, a point made by Brandy Perez Carbaugh of The Heritage Foundation.
But the move is part of broader interior enforcement shifts under the administration: slowing naturalizations, re-reviewing approved applications, and tightening visa programs, including a proposed $100,000 fee overhaul for H-1B high-skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign, President Trump had suggested green cards for graduating foreign students; those promises have not translated into policy protections for current applicants from the paused countries.
The holds vary: about half of the 39 countries have partial restrictions allowing some travel under specific categories or exemptions for certain dual nationals or persecuted individuals. Still, these exceptions often do not help people already in the U.S. seeking renewals or work authorization.
Legal challenges are multiplying. At least 33 lawsuits have been filed by individuals and groups. Zachary New, an immigration attorney in Colorado representing more than 500 people, estimates roughly half of USCIS applications are affected by the travel-ban-linked pauses. A recent NPR analysis found nearly 12 million applications awaiting USCIS decisions, with roughly 247,000 not yet opened.
In one case, court filings revealed statements from a former USCIS spokesman indicating optional practical training (OPT) work authorizations — the program that allows international students to work temporarily — are being treated as banned for Iranians and will not be processed. In another, a federal judge in Northern California issued a preliminary injunction requiring USCIS to decide by a set date on certain work-authorization applications from 31 Iranians and one Sudanese citizen; the judge noted conflicting government positions that the holds are both indefinite and subject to timely decision.
Immigration advocates warn the pause will produce interior enforcement consequences: people whose authorizations lapse may face arrest, detention, and deportation. Bier said the policy makes lawful compliance harder and will increase removals. New said clients who have complied with the rules suddenly face impossible choices: split families, sell homes, or return to home countries — steps that can’t easily be undone even if processing resumes.
Personal stories underscore the stakes. S, a U.S. citizen, married Charlotte, a Haitian woman in the U.S. on Temporary Protected Status, and filed to start her path to citizenship; the paperwork is stuck and Charlotte’s future is uncertain. L, an assistant professor in North Carolina born in Iran and holding Canadian citizenship, fears his employer’s H-1B renewal will be denied despite long ties to U.S. academia; his family faces potential separation.
The pause has also produced uneven and slow legal relief. Some courts have ordered decisions for narrow groups, but other suits proceed slowly. Meanwhile, the administration has argued the new screening is a security imperative. Opponents call the policy arbitrary and harmful, especially to people who “did everything they could to be on the right side of the law.”
Attorneys and affected people say the damage extends beyond months of delay: lost residencies, stalled careers, depleted savings and fractured families. “People are losing jobs. People are losing placement and medical residency. People are losing status. And those things are not something that just goes away by processing starting again,” New said.
As litigation proceeds and USCIS maintains its vetting posture, thousands remain in limbo, unsure whether they can legally live and work in the U.S. or whether they will be pushed into deportation proceedings — outcomes with personal and national economic consequences.