US blocks citizenship, residency applications from Nigerians, others as Trump widens travel ban

The United States has suspended immigration and citizenship applications filed by Nigerians and nationals of several other countries newly added to President Donald Trump’s expanded travel ban, a move that deepens Washington’s hardline stance on legal immigration.

According to CBS News, the directive affects applications for US citizenship, permanent residency, asylum and changes of immigration status, including petitions submitted by people already living legally in the country.

The action follows an earlier December order instructing the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to freeze all immigration petitions from nationals of countries covered under Trump’s travel ban proclamation.

Many of those impacted are lawful residents who had been seeking to regularise their status or complete the process of becoming American citizens.

The latest clampdown comes in the wake of a Thanksgiving week attack in Washington, DC, in which two National Guard soldiers were killed. The incident was allegedly carried out by an Afghan national and prompted a series of immigration restrictions by the Trump administration.

In addition to the freeze on immigration petitions, the administration also suspended all asylum decisions handled by USCIS and halted the processing of visa and immigration applications by Afghan nationals.

On Tuesday, Trump announced a major expansion of the travel ban, adding 20 more countries. Five of them are now subject to a full entry ban, while the remaining 15 face partial restrictions.

A US official, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity, said USCIS has extended the suspension of immigration cases to nationals of the newly listed countries.

The countries facing a full ban are Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria.

Those placed under partial restrictions include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Before the latest expansion, the policy already applied to nationals of Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Laos, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Venezuela.

Under the new proclamation, Laos and Sierra Leone have now been moved from partial restrictions to a full travel ban.

In a statement posted on social media on Thursday, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow hinted at the widened scope of the suspension.

“USCIS is conducting a comprehensive review of individuals from anywhere who may pose a threat to the United States, including those covered by the President’s latest proclamation,” Edlow said.

Altogether, Trump’s expanded travel ban now affects nationals of more than 60 per cent of African countries and roughly one-fifth of countries worldwide.