The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun accepting asylum claims for certain foreign nationals after earlier halting processing of such claims altogether, the agency announced in a March 30 statement.
In November 2025, the USCIS halted all asylum decisions after an Afghan national shot two National Guard members near the White House. USCIS then issued multiple memorandums, placing a hold on asylum applications and benefit requests from foreigners deemed to be from high-risk countries and those filing under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, the agency stated.
