The United States Government has temporarily halted the processing of green card and citizenship applications filed by Nigerians and nationals of other countries newly added to the US travel ban, according to a report by CBS News.
The suspension affects legal immigration applications handled by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS and mainly targets immigrants from selected African and Asian countries.
Many of those affected are already living legally in the United States and were seeking to adjust their immigration status or become American citizens.
Earlier in December, the Trump administration directed USCIS to freeze all immigration petitions, including applications for permanent residency and citizenship, from nationals of 19 countries covered by the travel ban announced in June.
The decision followed the Thanksgiving week shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington DC, an attack allegedly carried out by an Afghan national.
Following the incident, the administration also suspended decisions on asylum cases handled by USCIS and stopped the processing of all immigration and visa applications by Afghans.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump expanded the travel ban to include 20 additional countries, fully barring entry from five nations and partially restricting travel from 15 others.
A US official, who spoke to CBS News on Friday on condition of anonymity, said USCIS has now extended the suspension of immigration cases to cover nationals of the newly added countries.
Affected countries
The full travel ban applies to Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria.Countries facing partial restrictions include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.