Understanding the Asylum and Benefits “Pause”

On December 2, 2025, the Trump administration placed an indefinite hold on all asylum applications filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regardless of the nationality of the applicant and paused applications for permanent residence (green card) and other immigration benefits filed by individuals from original 19 “Travel Ban” countries. This pause on all benefit applications was expanded on January 1, 2026, to include the additional countries listed in the December 16, 2025 Travel Ban expansion.

The policy also requires USCIS to re-review approved benefits requests for immigrants from countries named in the June 2025 and December 2025 Travel Bans, if the approval was on or after January 20, 2021.

USCIS continues to receipt asylum applications, issue biometrics appointment notice, schedule and conduct asylum interviews, as well as receipt benefits applications for noncitizens from the Travel Ban countries.

Despite the indefinite pause for benefits, noncitizens pursuing asylum and those from Travel Ban nations are not without recourse. Federal courts can compel government agencies such as USCIS to adjudicate benefits applications through a writ of mandamus. The government’s effort to restrict lawful immigration will likely amount to significantly more litigation in the courts as immigrants seek to obtain benefits they are entitled to.

Notably as well, the pause also prohibits USCIS from denying asylum applicants. This will ultimately contribute to an even greater backlog as nearly 1.5 million applications were pending before USCIS at the conclusion of 2024.