Trump administration stops processing some green cards 'to do more vetting'
Finalizing applications filed by certain immigrants to become legal permanent residents is being put on hold to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January.
Finalizing applications filed by certain immigrants to become legal permanent residents is being put on hold to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the part of the Department of Homeland Security that handles citizenship, legal status and other immigration benefits, has suspended processing some applications for so-called green cards to do more vetting of the applicants, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
Trump's executive order, signed Jan. 20, titled "Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats," called for agencies to "vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks."
CBS News reported Tuesday that USCIS has directed its staff to conduct the additional vetting of refugees or people who were granted asylum and have applied for legal permanent residency, or green cards.
The agency said in a statement attributed to a DHS spokesperson that it is "placing a temporary pause on finalizing certain adjustment of status applications pending the completion of additional screening and vetting."
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