Three Years On, Afghan Family Reunions Still On Hold, Officials Say

(KABUL) — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services halted processing of asylum and other immigration benefit applications involving Afghan nationals after issuing a late-2025 security review order that has frozen thousands of family reunification cases, including one highlighted on December 31, 2025 by the New York Times.

USCIS Director Joseph Edlow tied the suspension to heightened vetting after a shooting incident in Washington, D.C., allegedly involving an Afghan evacuee.

“My primary responsibility is to ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. [USCIS] has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” Edlow said in a November 27, 2025 announcement.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed a broader stoppage the next day.

“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” McLaughlin said in a November 28, 2025 statement.

Timeline of key actions and announcements

• November 27, 2025 — USCIS Director Joseph Edlow public statement suspending asylum decisions for Afghan nationals.
• November 28, 2025 — DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirms an indefinite stoppage of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals.
• December 2, 2025 — USCIS issues Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192 titled “Hold and Review of all Pending Asylum Applications and all USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from High-Risk Countries.”
• December 12, 2025 — DHS announces termination of categorical family reunification parole programs.
• December 31, 2025 — New York Times publishes article highlighting a stalled family reunification case.

Policy changes and procedural details

• The USCIS memorandum PM-602-0192 establishes:
• A hold and re-review of all pending asylum applications and USCIS benefit applications filed by nationals of “19 High-Risk Countries,” including Afghanistan.
• Mandatory re-review and potential re-interview of applicants from those countries.
• A comprehensive re-review of benefit requests approved for individuals who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021.

• Practical effects include:

• An indefinite hold on pending Form I-130 relative petitions and Form I-730 asylee/refugee relative petitions for Afghan nationals, including cases with prior approvals.

• State Department instruction since November 27, 2025 to “reject or pause all immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications from Afghans under section 221(g) of the INA, pending further security checks,” which can stop interviews and issuance even when applicants are otherwise documentarily ready.

• DHS action on December 12, 2025:

• Termination of categorical Family Reunification Parole (FRP) programs.
• DHS statement framed the decision as a “return to America First,” adding: “The desire to reunite families does not overcome the government’s responsibility to prevent fraud and abuse and to uphold national security and public safety.”

Impact on families and applicants

• Family reunification efforts have been stalled, including the case described in the New York Times article “3 Years After a Toddler’s Parents Fled Kabul, a Reunion Is Still on Hold.”
• Bottlenecks now occur at multiple points:
• Petitions (I-130, I-730)
• Parole pathways (including terminated FRP programs)
• Visa processing and 221(g) pauses

• Travel documentation and visa interviews

• Specific consequences reported:

• Families with approved petitions may be “unable to obtain travel documents or visa interviews.”
• Many Afghans in the U.S. are facing gaps in Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) as renewals are caught in the processing freeze.
• Afghans outside the U.S., including those in Afghanistan and third countries (e.g., Pakistan), “remain at high risk of Taliban reprisal as their pathways to the U.S. are shut down.”

Scope, numbers, and deadlines

Administrative rationale and reversal of prior policies

• Officials cited “security gaps” in the original 2021 evacuation vetting as the rationale for the heightened scrutiny and review.
• The new measures reverse elements of Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), which had prioritized relocation and reunification of Afghan allies after the Kabul evacuation.
• The USCIS “19 High-Risk Countries” approach creates an additional procedural gate: mandatory re-review and possible re-interview regardless of prior clearances.

Official sources and where to find the notices

• USCIS public information: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom
• USCIS information for Afghan nationals: https://www.uscis.gov/afghanistan
• DHS family reunification parole termination notice: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/12/12/dhs-ends-family-reunification-parole
• USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0192: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-alerts/PM-602-0192.pdf

Key quotes and framing

“My primary responsibility is to ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” — Joseph Edlow, November 27, 2025

“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols.” — Tricia McLaughlin, November 28, 2025

“Ending the [Family Reunification Parole] programs is a necessary return to common-sense policies and a return to America First. The desire to reunite families does not overcome the government’s responsibility to prevent fraud and abuse and to uphold national security and public safety.” — DHS, December 12, 2025

Overall effect

Taken together, the late-2025 directives impose a blanket suspension for Afghan nationals that is both prospective and retroactive in scope: an Indefinite Hold on pending cases paired with a Retroactive Review of approved benefits for people who entered on or after January 20, 2021. This design has left previously progressing reunification cases vulnerable to pause, transforming a process once prioritized after the 2021 Kabul evacuation into one dominated by enhanced security review and indefinite delays.