US pauses visas for all Afghan passport holders, halts asylum requests

Pause connected visas and halting of asylum applications comes aft shooting of 2 National Guard members successful Washington, DC.

The US State Department has announced it is “immediately” pausing issuing visas for individuals travelling connected Afghan passports to support “public safety”, arsenic President Donald Trump administration’s migration crackdown intensifies successful the aftermath of a deadly onslaught connected 2 National Guard members.

The announcement connected Friday came arsenic United States migration authorities said they are besides halting decisions connected each asylum applications for the foreseeable future.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3National Guard worker Sarah Beckstrom dies aft DC shooting: Trump
• list 2 of 3Trump pauses migration from ‘Third World’ countries: What that means
• list 3 of 3Suspect successful Washington, DC, shooting charged with execution aft worker dies

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed successful a station connected X connected Friday that the State Department had “paused visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling connected Afghan passports”.

The determination comes aft authorities named Afghan nationalist Rahmanaullah Lakanwal arsenic the main fishy successful Wednesday’s shooting successful Washington, DC, which killed 1 National Guard subordinate and near different successful captious condition.

“The United States has nary higher precedence than protecting our federation and our people,” Rubio said.

President Trump’s State Department has paused visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling connected Afghan passports. 

The United States has nary higher precedence than protecting our federation and our people. https://t.co/HuR1Lj7F9t

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) November 28, 2025

Lakanwal is alleged to person ambushed West Virginia National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe successful an unprovoked onslaught arsenic they patrolled adjacent the White House.

On Thursday evening, the Trump medication confirmed that 20-year-old Beckstrom had died from her injuries, portion 24-year-old Wolfe remains successful captious condition.

The CIA confirmed this week that Lakanwal had worked for the spy bureau successful Afghanistan earlier emigrating to the US soon aft the withdrawal of Western forces from the state successful 2021.

The bureau of US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, announced connected Friday that the charges against Lakanwal had been upgraded to first-degree murder, on with 2 counts of battle with intent to termination portion armed.

In a abstracted announcement connected Friday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) manager Joseph Edlow said the bureau had besides paused each asylum decisions successful the involvement of the “safety of the American people”.

“USCIS has halted each asylum decisions until we tin guarantee that each alien is vetted and screened to the maximum grade possible,” Edlow said successful a station connected X.

A time earlier, Edlow said helium had ordered “a full-scale, rigorous re-examination of each greenish paper for each alien from each state of concern” astatine the absorption of Trump.

The moves are the latest successful a bid of escalating restrictions imposed connected migration into the US astatine Trump’s urging.

Trump, who called the deadly Washington, DC, shooting a “terrorist attack”, has connected respective occasions implicit caller days attacked erstwhile President Joe Biden’s administration’s migration policies, including the granting of visas to Afghan nationals who worked with US forces successful Afghanistan.

Lakanwal came to the US nether a Biden-era programme known arsenic “Operation Allies Welcome”, pursuing the US withdrawal successful 2021.

In a station connected his Truth Social level connected Thursday, Trump ordered authorities to re-examine each greenish paper applications from 19 “countries of concern”, earlier saying helium planned to suspend migration from “all Third World countries”.

He did not specify the word “Third World”, but the operation is often utilized arsenic a shorthand for processing countries successful the Global South.

Trump besides said that helium would “remove anyone who is not a nett plus to the United States, oregon is incapable of loving our Country”.

“[I will] denaturalize migrants who undermine home tranquillity, and deport immoderate overseas nationalist who is simply a nationalist charge, information risk, oregon non-compatible with Western civilization,” helium said.

Since returning to the White House successful January, Trump has already taken assertive measures to restrict immigration, announcing successful October his medication would judge lone 7,500 refugees successful 2026 – the lowest fig since 1980.