(LITHUANIA) — Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) published an investigative report on January 20, 2026 detailing how foreigners can wait years for Lithuanian citizenship, even as U.S. immigration agencies roll out new vetting policies that can add friction to cross-border paperwork and identity checks.
LRT described a system with “No guarantees or deadlines,” pointing to long waits for final decisions at Lithuania’s Migration Department (MIGRIS) that can leave applicants in limbo after they believe they have met the country’s requirements.
U.S. policy shifts and their connection to foreign procedures
The report landed during a month of policy shifts at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that expand screening and re-screening, a posture that can indirectly affect applicants who rely on U.S.-issued documents or U.S. immigration records in foreign procedures.
USCIS Director issued Policy Memorandum PM-602-0194 on January 1, 2026, titled “Hold and Review of USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from Additional High-Risk Countries.”
“USCIS remains dedicated to ensuring aliens from high-risk countries of concern who have entered the United States do not pose risks to national security or public safety. To faithfully uphold United States immigration law, the flow of aliens from countries with high overstay rates, significant fraud, or both must stop.” (Source: USCIS Memo, January 1, 2026)
The directive placed an immediate hold on the final adjudication of all pending benefit applications for individuals from 39 designated countries under Presidential Proclamation 10998.
A hold on final adjudication does not erase a filing or halt every step of case handling, but it pauses the final decision while agencies conduct additional review.
In practice, applicants can still face continued processing activity, such as updated screening, record checks, and requests for additional evidence, while the final grant remains unavailable.
Operation PARRIS and intensifying verification
DHS and USCIS also launched Operation PARRIS on January 9, 2026, which DHS characterized as a “sweeping initiative reexamining thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification.” (Source: USCIS Press Release, January 9, 2026)
The added emphasis on re-screening and “intensive verification” can translate into longer timelines and more follow-up requests in immigration systems, especially for refugees and asylees, benefit applicants from designated countries, and people who need U.S.-issued documents to complete a separate foreign process.
Even when a citizenship application sits with a non-U.S. authority, national-security framing can affect how quickly a case moves if authorities seek to verify documents, confirm identity details, or cross-check records.
That can mean extra authentication steps, longer waits for confirmations, and heightened attention to inconsistencies.
Lithuanian citizenship: backlog realities and 2025–2026 developments
LRT’s investigation focused on Lithuanian citizenship processing itself and contrasted an official Lithuanian estimate of a 9–12 month processing time for naturalization with what it said many applicants experience in reality: foreigners are waiting two to four years for final decisions from MIGRIS.
Those competing timelines matter because the largest burden often falls on people who have already built their lives around an expectation of predictability. Applicants can plan around a year; they struggle to plan around multiple years with no firm endpoint.
Delays also tend to feel different depending on where they arise in a case. Intake and completeness checks can stop an application from moving if documents do not match requirements.
Authentication steps can add time when authorities verify foreign-issued records, translations, or civil status documents. Security reviews can push decisions deeper into a queue. A final decision delay can extend uncertainty even after an applicant believes all substantive checks are complete.
LRT reported that foreigners wait years, and the practical effect extends beyond paperwork. Lithuanian citizenship can determine when a person gains a passport and when they can use the rights and mobility that come with EU membership, including movement within the Schengen area.
Lithuania also changed its citizenship law in early 2026, broadening access to dual citizenship for citizens of the EU, EEA, and NATO countries, including the U.S. The reform expands the pool of people who can apply, and that can increase application volumes and administrative load even without any other change in staffing or procedures.
Expanded eligibility, however, does not mean automatic approval. Authorities still evaluate each file, and applicants still must meet the legal requirements and provide proof. In a system already described as strained by long waits, higher demand can test how quickly caseworkers can move from intake through verification to a final decision.
Lithuania’s 2026 reform also tightened a procedural deadline tied to proof. Under the reform, the deadline for proving entitlement to dual citizenship was reduced from six months to three months, with failure to comply resulting in the immediate initiation of citizenship revocation procedures (Source: DE Civitate, April 25, 2025/Updated Jan 2026).
A shorter proof window shifts more risk onto applicants. Authorities can request evidence to confirm entitlement, such as records that establish identity, civil status, or the legal basis for holding or reacquiring citizenship.
Proof windows exist because decision-makers set a defined period for applicants to complete files, but a narrower window leaves less time to locate documents, correct errors, or secure authentication.
Practical consequences and cross-border friction
Missing that window can carry serious consequences because the report links noncompliance to the “immediate initiation of citizenship revocation procedures.” That raises the stakes for people whose evidence depends on foreign authorities, postal delivery, or multi-step legalization and translation.
Applicants often face compounding problems when they need documents from abroad, including from U.S. agencies. A person may need identity records, civil status papers, or other confirmations that require appointments, processing times, or follow-up requests, especially when records must match exactly across systems.
The U.S. policy environment described by USCIS and DHS can add friction for some applicants, even when the Lithuanian process remains the primary track. Enhanced screening can mean additional document checks or renewed attention to travel history and identity data, which can in turn generate requests for evidence and delay decisions.
The report also described broader tension around U.S. policy, noting that the Lithuanian President recently backed European statements criticizing U.S. trade and tariff policies, and it framed that as part of a wider geopolitical environment that has “trickled down into immigration and vetting scrutiny.”
It also said a DHS “Travel Ban” expansion on January 1, 2026 created a global environment of “extreme vetting,” increasing the administrative burden on partner nations like Lithuania to perform reciprocal high-level security checks on foreign applicants.
Significance, impact, and who is affected
LRT reported that affected individuals can find themselves in “legal limbo.” It described people who may meet residency and language requirements but remain without a passport or full EU rights because the process lacks procedural deadlines.
The day-to-day impact can be concrete. Applicants awaiting Lithuanian citizenship decisions may delay travel plans if they cannot predict when they will receive a passport. Families can hesitate on long-term moves, schooling choices, or caregiving arrangements.
Workers can face limits on mobility if they cannot time changes tied to status and documentation. Prolonged pending status can also complicate banking and ID verification, where institutions often require stable documentation and consistent identity records.
Any mismatch in names, dates, or civil status can trigger further requests for documents and slow down not only citizenship processing but routine life administration.
For dual citizens or would-be dual citizens, the interaction between systems can become especially demanding. A person may need U.S. documentation to complete Lithuanian proof requests while also dealing with U.S. screening or processing holds that affect access to records, decisions, or confirmations.
Heightened vetting environments can increase the number of documentation requests and the level of authentication required. That can lengthen case cycles and raise the risk that someone misses a procedural step, especially when proof windows tighten to three months.
Applicants can also face timing pressure when different authorities require similar records in different formats. A document that satisfies one office may still require legalization, updated translations, or additional verification for another office, and each extra step consumes time inside a shortened deadline.
With foreigners waiting years, the strain does not fall evenly. People with complex histories, multiple citizenship links, or documents issued across several jurisdictions can face more verification steps.
Those steps can be legitimate parts of screening, but they can also stack into long, hard-to-predict timelines.
How administrative holds reshape expectations
U.S. policy moves like PM-602-0194 and Operation PARRIS illustrate how administrative holds and re-review campaigns can reshape expectations about timing. When agencies pause final adjudication while they continue review and verification, applicants can remain in process without clarity on when they will receive a final decision.
LRT’s account of Lithuanian citizenship backlogs, combined with the U.S. shift toward “integrity strengthening” and re-screening, underscores how citizenship and immigration processes can slow when verification burdens rise and final decisions pause, leaving applicants waiting far beyond the timelines they expected.
