Immigration Law Insights

The immigration landscape has changed considerably since President Trump re-took office in January 2025, and with the recent expansion of travel restrictions and an immigration benefit pause as well as the partial suspension of immigrant visa issuance, it appears 2026 will be no different. 

Expanded Travel Ban and Immigration Benefit Suspension

In June 2025, the administration announced entry restrictions for nationals of certain countries, including a full travel ban for nationals  of 12 countries and a partial ban for nationals of seven more.  In December 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a memo implementing a pause on all immigration benefit requests for individuals who were nationals of or who were born in countries impacted by the  travel ban.  The pause restricts USCIS from approving a variety of benefit requests including Adjustment of Status Applications, Employment Authorization Document requests, and requests for various types of employment-based nonimmigrant status. 

On December 16, 2025, the administration expanded the travel bans to impact 38 total countries, effective January 1, 2026.  In a January 1, 2026 memo, USCIS also expanded the benefit pause to coincide with the expanded travel ban list.  The new memo also directs a re-review of any immigration benefit request approved on or after January 20, 2021 for an individual who is a national of or born in one of the restricted countries.  The memo notes that USCIS will continue to process cases up to final adjudication; therefore, Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny may still be issued despite the pause.  There are some exceptions to the benefit pause, including circumstances where the benefit request would serve the national interest. 

In the restrictions’ current form, nationals from the following countries are subject to the full ban:  Afghanistan; Burkina Faso; Burma; Chad; Republic of Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Laos; Libya; Mali; Niger; Palestinian Authority; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Sudan;  Sudan; Syria;  and Yemen.  The partial travel ban impacts nationals of the following:  Angola; Antigua and Barbuda; Benin; Burundi; Cote d’Ivoire; Cuba; Dominica; Gabon; The Gambia; Malawi; Mauritania; Nigeria; Senegal; Tanzania; Togo; Tonga; Turkmenistan; Venezuela; Zambia; and Zimbabwe. 

Immigrant Visa Suspension

In conjunction with the travel restrictions and benefit pause, the Department of State (“DOS”) has launched a “full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance” for applicants from countries determined to be at high risk of benefitting from U.S. welfare programs. Beginning January 21, 2026, all immigrant visa issuance will be paused for nationals of  75 countries. Importantly, the pause affects immigrant visa applications at U.S. Consulates abroad, but does not impact I-485 Adjustment of Status applications. Several, but not all, of the 75 countries are also on the list of countries subject to the full or partial travel restrictions. DOS clarified they will continue to accept immigrant visa applications and schedule and conduct interviews, but no immigrant visas will be issued until further notice.

Countries Subject to Immigrant Visa Pause

Employer Impact

The benefit and immigrant visa pauses are likely to result in significant adjudication delays that could impact employment-based immigration processing.  It is important that employers identify foreign national workers impacted by the benefit pause and ensure any necessary extension requests are filed as early as possible.  H-1B extension petitions can be filed up to 180 days prior to expiration and H-1B beneficiaries receive an automatic 240-day work authorization extension if their extension request is timely filed. 

Employers should also closely monitor any updates to the travel restrictions and/or benefit pause.  As noted above, the administration has already expanded the list of countries subject to the travel bans (and therefore subject to the benefit pause) once, and is likely to do so again in the future. 

The Burr Immigration team will continue to monitor for additional updates related to travel restrictions or limitations on immigration benefit issuance.