White House attack: US to tighten green card rules; 19 countries set for review - FULL LIST

US to tighten green card rules: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a fresh set of guidelines today, November 28, in the wake of the shooting of two national guards by an Afghan person on the eve of Thanksgiving in the United States. The new policy guidance would authorise USCIS officials to consider country-specific factors from 19 countries when reviewing immigration requests. The Trump administration has said it will conduct a rigorous re-examination of all Green Cards issued to immigrants from every country of concern. In an official statement released on Thursday, November 27 (local time), the USCIS said it will take into account important factors specific to each country when using its broad powers to deal with people coming from 19 high-risk countries, after stopping refugee resettlement from Afghanistan and blocking Afghan nationals from entering during the first year of the Trump administration.This follows the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, November 26, by an Afghan national. USCIS, which comes under the Department of Homeland Security, said in the statement that the policy guidance is effective immediately and applies to requests pending or filed on or after November 27.USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said, "Yesterday's horrific events make it abundantly clear the Biden administration spent the last four years dismantling basic vetting and screening standards, prioritizing the rapid resettlement of aliens from high-risk countries over the safety of American citizens. The Trump administration takes the opposite approach. Effective immediately, I am issuing new policy guidance that authorizes USCIS officers to consider country-specific factors as significant negative factors when reviewing immigration requests. American lives come first."In a post on X, he mentioned that the US would rigorously re-examine Green Cards issued to aliens from every country of concern.USCIS said the updated guidance, which includes looking at factors specific to each country, will help it better carry out President Trump’s Proclamation 10949, which limits entry for security reasons. The agency said the changes will help officers more effectively decide whether someone could be a threat to public safety or national security. US to tighten green card rules: 19 Countries set for review - LISTThese countries are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.These are the same countries that were subject to a travel ban announced by Trump in a proclamation issued in June this year.The proclamation Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats' restricted and limited the entry of nationals of these countries into the US and applied to both immigrants and non-immigrants.The USCIS said that its new guidance comes after the Trump administration halted refugee resettlement from Afghanistan and the entry of Afghan nationals in its first year of office.With inputs from ANI/PTI.