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IRAP shares newly released USCIS documents about a pause on the adjudication of applications filed by refugee and asylee green card applicants. IRAP obtained the documents through a FOIA request and related lawsuit.
On March 25, 2025, it was reported that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had implemented a pause on the adjudication of green card applications filed by refugees and asylees. Despite immediate and widespread reporting about this pause and its implications for refugee and asylee communities, USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) failed to provide any further information about the policy or its scope, including the text, how long it was to remain in effect, and whether it impacted specific green card applicant refugees and asylees.
Under U.S. immigration law, refugees and asylees are legally eligible for lawful permanent resident status (i.e., a green card) after one year. A green card offers significantly more stability and legal protection than refugee or asylee status, and any delays in that process leave these already vulnerable populations in a state of limbo and at greater risk of harm or deportation.
Recognizing the immediate consequences of such an opaque and devastating federal policy, IRAP sought the expedited disclosure of the pause directive through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. On June 11, 2025, two months after filing its FOIA request, IRAP sued USCIS in federal court in order to compel the agency to produce the policy.
Through IRAP v. USCIS, Records Are Produced Confirming Policy Delaying Adjudication of Refugee and Asylee Green Card Applications
As a result of IRAP’s lawsuit, USCIS produced two documents.
1. A March 21, 2025 email, below, from government leadership announcing the AOS Pause Directive—”a temporary hold on “all” asylee/refugee I-485 adjudications[] … to be no longer than 2 weeks ….”
2. An April 10, 2025 email, below, announcing the lift of the AOS Pause Directive, but advising that “further guidance and instructions” are forthcoming “on the cases that can be processed without an interview … and those that will require interviews prior to adjudication.” Additionally, the email confirms that the AOS Pause Directive was implemented “pending the completion of additional screening and vetting to identify potential fraud, public safety, or national security concerns. [A] change [] in alignment with Presidential Executive Order 14161, Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, and Executive Order 14157, Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists.”
Despite Lifting the Temporary Blanket Pause, Green Card Delays Persist for Certain Refugees and Asylees under Secret New Vetting Guidance
The newly published government documents establish that between March 21, 2025 and April 10, 2025, there existed a temporary pause on the adjudication of all green card applications filed by refugees and asylees. The government’s stated rationale for the pause was a concern for “potential fraud, public safety, or national security concerns,” stemming from the issuance of executive orders that, among other things, declared a national emergency predicated on designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, tee’d up the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to remove alleged members of such organizations, and directed agencies to prevent refugees from being admitted to the U.S. without undergoing stringent identification verification.
However, such a rationale makes no sense given the extensive scrutiny and security vetting that refugees and asylees already undergo to obtain their immigration statuses and especially after fleeing persecution, torture, and harm in their countries of origin. See generally Debunking “Extreme Vetting”: Recommendations to Build Back the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, IRAP, (Jun. 2021). Additionally, while USCIS stated internally on April 10 that it was lifting a blanket pause on the adjudication of all green card applications filed by refugees and asylees, that is not the end of the story.
According to the documents IRAP received, certain—undisclosed—refugee and asylee green card applicants continue to face further hurdles and delays in achieving permanent legal status and stability. In response, IRAP has filed a FOIA request to uncover this secret new vetting guidance impacting the lives and legal rights of refugee and asylee green card applicants.
Conclusion
These policies, and the tortured rationales behind them, are a reminder that in addition to dramatic spectacles, the Trump administration uses hidden policy changes to sow fear and confusion among immigrant communities. Delaying green cards for people seeking protection from persecution leaves them vulnerable to attack by anti-immigrant laws, and is indicative of a larger effort by the Trump administration to dismantle critical immigration pathways and protections that keep people and families stable and safe—such as Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole programs for various nationalities. Despite the Trump administration’s attacks on refugees and asylees and mass delegalization efforts, IRAP will continue to uphold the rights and dignity of people seeking safety and to fight for a more welcoming future for all.
Pedro Sepulveda, Jr. is a Litigation Fellow in IRAP’s U.S. Litigation Department.
The full collection of records from IRAP v. USCIS, 1:25-cv-04900, is available here.
This blog post is intended for a legal practitioner and legal advocacy audience; it is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute attorney-client advice. To find resources about immigration pathways in multiple languages, or to request help from IRAP, please use IRAP’s Legal Information website.
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This publication is from July 2025. It is not being updated and does not reflect legal changes since publication. Please see IRAP’s Legal Practitioner Resources page for additional information for legal practitioners.
