The Trump administration on Thursday stated it will cut back the time frame that work permits are legitimate for refugees, asylees and different immigrants granted authorized protections within the U.S., its newest transfer to tighten immigration procedures.
The overhaul additionally applies to immigrants with pending functions for asylum or everlasting U.S. residency, often called inexperienced playing cards. These processes that normally take years to finish, primarily due to an enormous backlog of unresolved circumstances.
Beneath the brand new guidelines, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies stated it would problem work permits to those populations that final for a most of 18 months, as an alternative of the present 5-year interval.
In its announcement, USCIS cited the assault in opposition to two Nationwide Guard members in Washington, D.C., final week, arguing the change will enable the company to vet and display screen immigrants extra regularly after they file to resume their work permits.
The suspect in that assault, 29-year-old Afghan nationwide Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. in September 2021 beneath the Biden administration however his asylum software was authorized in April 2025, a number of months after President Trump took workplace for a second time.
“Lowering the utmost validity interval for employment authorization will be certain that these searching for to work in the US don’t threaten public security or promote dangerous anti-American ideologies,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow stated in a press release.
“After the assault on Nationwide Guard service members in our nation’s capital by an alien who was admitted into this nation by the earlier administration, it is much more clear that USCIS should conduct frequent vetting of aliens,” Edlow added.
The brand new coverage will apply to work allow functions filed after Friday, Dec. 5, in addition to these which might be pending as of that date.
Within the wake of final week’s capturing in D.C., which killed one Nationwide Guard member and left one other in essential situation, the Trump administration has dramatically expanded its immigration crackdown, curbing pathways for sure immigrants to enter or keep within the U.S. legally.
The administration has frozen all asylum requests overseen by USCIS, paused visa and immigration functions filed by any Afghan nationwide and halted all authorized immigration circumstances, together with citizenship ceremonies, for nationals of the 19 nations listed on Mr. Trump’s “journey ban.”
U.S. officers advised CBS Information on Tuesday the Trump administration is contemplating increasing that journey ban to incorporate a complete of 30 nations, additionally in response to the capturing in D.C.
