Overview
- The Dec. 2 directive instructs officers to pause adjudication and weigh country-specific factors as significant negatives for applicants from 19 designated nations.
- Field offices have canceled or halted naturalization ceremonies, with some approved applicants removed from oath lines at Boston’s Faneuil Hall and other sites, often with little or late notice.
- Project Citizenship reports at least 21–24 clients had ceremonies canceled, while MIRA says at least 45 people it supports have been affected, including five turned away in Boston.
- USCIS frames the shift as a national-security review following charges in a D.C. shooting involving an Afghan national, saying enhanced screening is necessary to protect the system’s integrity.
- The agency announced a new Atlanta Vetting Center that will use artificial intelligence to prioritize these reviews, and attorneys expect more lawsuits as applicants remain in legal limbo without a timeline.