Trump's Green Card Review Order Triggers Massive Visa Backlog Warning from Ex-USCIS Official for 19 Countries

Trump Administration's Green Card Review Sparks Warnings of Massive Visa Backlogs

The United States immigration system is bracing for significant disruption and extensive processing delays, a direct consequence of a sweeping directive from the Donald Trump administration. This order mandates an exhaustive re-review of all Green Cards and asylum approvals granted to nationals from 19 specific "countries of concern" during the preceding Biden administration.

Ex-USCIS Official Predicts Unprecedented Delays

Ricky Murray, who previously served as the chief of staff for Refugee and International Operations at USCIS until late November, issued a stark warning to Newsweek. He described these orders as "unprecedented" and predicted they would inevitably slow down all immigration-related work, leading to a substantial backlog. Murray emphasized the severe strain on finite resources:

"This is going to have a tremendous effect on the backlog. Having to pull resources together to review hundreds of thousands of cases is going to require thousands of man-hours. These man-hours are only going to be taken from processing of new filings."

He cautioned that significant delays are to be expected for new applications in any area from which USCIS diverts resources for this extensive re-review.

Questioning the Scope of the Directive

Murray also highlighted the unique and potentially problematic nature of the directive. He noted that the memo uses "a single event" to cast doubt on the validity of benefits for thousands of immigrants, most of whom have no connection to the isolated incident in question. He stated, "Immigrants of 18 of the 19 countries have no ties to this event, and even a very limited number of Afghans have ever even had contact with the perpetrator of the heinous event spurring this release of this memo."

Universal Hold on Asylum Requests

Beyond the specific 19 countries, USCIS has also announced an immediate, comprehensive hold on all asylum requests currently pending, regardless of the applicant's country of origin. This measure is universal across all asylum applications. Typically, individuals can apply for asylum in the U.S. if they can demonstrate a credible fear of persecution in their home country.

Intensified Scrutiny and Re-interviews

The administration's plan involves a thorough, case-by-case re-assessment of approved benefit requests from the 19 targeted nations. Applicants may be subjected to potential interviews, or even re-interviews, to meticulously evaluate all national security and public safety concerns, along with any other grounds for inadmissibility or ineligibility. This move signals a pronounced shift towards intensified scrutiny within the immigration process.