USCIS Expands Review of Afghans’ Green Cards to Other Nations

The Biden administration has ordered a sweeping review of thousands of already-approved U.S. green cards and asylum grants for people from Afghanistan and several other countries, after a security incident in Washington prompted fresh concern about vetting, according to officials and policy documents dated late 2025.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its immigration agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), are carrying out a case-by-case re-examination of past decisions, starting with Afghans and then extending to nationals of Burma, Chad, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan, all identified by the White House as countries of concern.

Background: June 2025 presidential proclamation

The new scrutiny follows a sweeping presidential proclamation in June 2025 that fully suspended the entry of nationals from Afghanistan and the six other states. The proclamation cited:

• Worries about terrorism.
• A lack of reliable local authorities to issue and check documents.
• High rates of overstaying U.S. visas once admitted.

Afghanistan was singled out in the proclamation as territory controlled by the Taliban, which the United States labels a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group. The proclamation also noted that Afghanistan has no competent authority for issuing secure passports or carrying out modern security screening, a gap U.S. officials say makes normal visa processing impossible for now.

What the DHS review does (and how it differs)

While the June order blocks most new arrivals, the later DHS directive goes further by reopening decisions that many Afghans and others had believed were settled — including lawful permanent residence (green cards) and asylum protections.

• The review is being done case by case, not through automatic cancellation.
• Immigration officers have been instructed to look again at files of Afghans and other flagged nationalities whose green cards or asylum approvals were issued in recent years.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this is a rare move in modern U.S. immigration policy because lawful permanent residence has typically only been stripped in cases of clear fraud, serious crime, or specific security intelligence — not through wide, nationality-based reviews.

Scope, transparency, and current unknowns

So far, the government has not released public figures on:

• How many green cards have already been revoked under the program.
• How many asylum cases are under reconsideration.
• The exact factors that would push an officer to reopen a case that had earlier passed background checks.

Officials say only that the process is ongoing as part of a broader national security effort ordered from the White House after the unspecified incident in Washington, and that each file will be weighed on its own facts, without any blanket rule that all Afghans or other listed nationals lose their status.

Impact and human consequences

For Afghans who reached safety in the United States 🇺🇸 after the fall of Kabul and have since gained permanent residence, news of possible case reopenings has stirred new anxiety—especially for those who still have close family trapped in Afghanistan or in third countries, waiting to reunite through the family immigration system.

Immigration lawyers warn that even the risk of losing green cards can affect daily life:

• Decisions about travel abroad.
• Choices about jobs, homes, and schooling.
• Avoidance of routine contact with authorities, even for matters normally safe.

The move also places new pressure on Afghans and other affected nationals whose immigration plans are still unfinished. They now face both the entry freeze (begun June 2025) and the possibility that earlier approvals for relatives already inside the U.S. could be revisited.

Guidance, resources, and advocacy concerns

DHS has not issued detailed public guidance describing:

• How long the review will last.
• What steps people can take to check whether their case is under scrutiny.
• Whether any special notice will be sent before a green card or asylum grant is formally revoked.

General information about lawful permanent residence and green card rights and duties remains available on the official USCIS website: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card. That material has not yet been updated to describe the Afghanistan-focused review or the broader program covering the six other countries listed in the presidential proclamation.

Advocates say the lack of public criteria leaves many people guessing about their future — particularly Afghans and others from the listed countries who had viewed approval of green cards or asylum as a settled step rather than a decision that might later be revisited.

Official rationale and focus

The presidential proclamation and later directives say changing security conditions in Afghanistan and the other countries, together with concerns highlighted by the security incident in Washington, make it necessary to look again at past approvals, even if that means reopening cases years after the original applications were filed.

The policy explicitly focuses on nationality, since the proclamation lists Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Haiti, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan as countries of concern. Agencies are directed to give extra attention to past and future cases involving people from those places.

Officials emphasize that this is a case-by-case review rather than a blanket cancellation program. They stress:

• Some people from the listed countries may keep their green cards and asylum grants after reexamination.
• Others could face moves to reopen or rescind their status if new questions about security or eligibility arise from the files.

Uncertainty about timetable and long-term effects

Because the government has not shared a timetable, affected people do not know whether the review will finish within months or continue for years. They also do not know whether very old cases — decisions made long before June 2025 — or only newer decisions will be placed under the microscope. This adds another layer of uncertainty to an already complex system.

Officials have said the review is part of a broader national security effort, and that message is likely to shape immigration debates beyond Afghanistan and the six named countries. It illustrates that even long-settled statuses, such as lawful permanent residence, can be reopened when the White House links immigration to security concerns.

Key takeaway: The DHS-led review reopens previously approved green cards and asylum grants for nationals of seven named countries on a case-by-case basis, creating uncertainty for many beneficiaries while offering few public details on scope, timeline, or criteria.