USCIS Pauses Immigration Approvals for Enhanced FBI Vetting

The Trump administration has mandated enhanced security checks for a wide range of immigration applications, directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to pause approvals on pending cases until the expanded vetting is complete, according to internal agency guidance.

The policy, outlined in instructions distributed last week and effective April 27, requires USCIS to resubmit fingerprint data from pending applications to the FBI's Next Generation Identification system for broader access to criminal history records. This affects applications for asylum, green cards, U.S. citizenship, and sponsorship petitions filed by relatives or fiancés of U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Officers were told not to approve any cases where FBI information was received before April 27, unless they plan to deny the application.

The changes stem from a February executive order by President Trump, which instructed the Justice Department to grant USCIS maximum permissible access to federal criminal databases. The order stated that such access aims to identify "criminal actors," potentially including foreign nationals with criminal histories who have violated U.S. immigration or...