Hold on Immigration Applications From 19 Countries; Social Media Vetting; and More

At a Glance

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will conduct a comprehensive review of approved benefit requests for foreign nationals from 19 African, Asian and Latin American countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021, which may include an interview, even if an interview was previously conducted.
• Effective December 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of State will conduct an online-presence review for all H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection has proposed a rule requiring travelers from visa-waiver countries applying via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization to disclose up to five years of social media history, along with other personal data.

Pause on Immigration Benefit Applications for Certain Foreign Nationals

• On December 2, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum placing a hold on all applications for asylum (Form I-589) for all foreign nationals and all immigration-benefit requests filed by individuals born in or citizens of the 19 countries listed in Presidential Proclamation 10949, regardless of entry date.
• The 19 countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.
• The hold applies to all new and pending applications. This includes employment-based benefit requests filed with USCIS (Form I-129, Form I-140, Form I-765).
• USCIS also issued Policy Guidance that the agency will consider citizenship of one of the 19 countries as a negative, adverse factor in adjudicating discretionary benefit requests.
• USCIS will conduct a comprehensive review of approved benefit requests for foreign nationals from these 19 countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021, which may include an interview, even if an interview was previously conducted for the applicant.

Validity of Employment Authorization Documents Shortened From 5 Years to 18 Months

• On December 4, 2025, USCIS updated its Policy Manual to reduce the validity period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from five years down to 18 months.
• Effective December 5, 2025, this reduction applies to initial and renewal EADs issued to refugees, asylees, those granted withholding of deportation or removal, those with pending applications for asylum or withholding of removal, those with pending applications for adjustment-of-status under INA 245, and those with pending applications for suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal.

Expanded Screening and Social-Media Vetting for H-1B / H-4 Applicants

• Effective December 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will conduct an online-presence review for all H-1B visa applicants and their H-4 dependents. This expands on the process that had previously applied mostly to students and exchange-visitor categories (F, M, J).
• Applicants are required to make all their social media profiles public so consular officers may review posts, comments, photos and associations.
• Applicants with H-1B visa interviews scheduled on December 15, 2025, or later may have their interviews cancelled and rescheduled.

Proposed Social-Media / ESTA Vetting for Visa-Waiver Visitors

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has proposed a rule requiring travelers from visa-waiver countries applying via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) to disclose up to five years of social media history, along with other personal data (phone numbers, email addresses, detailed information about family members and potentially biometric data).
• Under this proposal, social media disclosure will become a mandatory data element for all visa-waiver applicants.

For More Information

The U.S. government is likely to issue further rules and policy guidance to implement these changes. We will closely monitor the situation. For further information, you may contact the authors.

For relevant immigration-related information, register for Faegre Drinker’s immigration and global mobility practice’s webinar, “It’s a Wrap! Update on Trends and What’s Ahead in 2026 in Immigration for the Trump Administration Year 2,” available on demand through Wednesday, December 31, 2025.