Trump administration expands FBI checks for green cards and citizenship applications

The Trump administration has widened FBI screening for green card, asylum and citizenship cases, then told immigration officers not to approve pending applications until the expanded checks are finished. The change affects fingerprints-based applications already inside the legal immigration system, turning security vetting into a new bottleneck for people seeking permanent residence, naturalization and some family sponsorship approvals.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services distributed internal guidance last week ordering officers to resubmit pending applications for enhanced FBI background checks, according to documents reviewed by CBS News. That includes requests for green cards, U.S. citizenship, asylum and certain petitions filed for relatives or fiancees of U.S. citizens and green card holders. Officers were told to resubmit fingerprint-based screenings if the FBI information had been received before April 27, 2026, and to hold off on approvals until the new checks were completed.

USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said the agency had "implemented new security checks to strengthen the vetting and screening of applicants through expanded access to federal criminal databases." He said, "Processing is ongoing as we apply these enhanced background check requirements. Any delay in decision issuance should be brief and resolved shortly."

The scope of the new screening is broad. It reaches not only pending green card and naturalization applications, but also asylum cases and family-based filings that require fingerprints. Because USCIS can no longer approve those cases until the new FBI review is done, the practical effect is to slow lawful immigration without formally changing the statutes that govern it. For applicants, especially refugees, asylees and families waiting on reunification, the policy adds another layer of delay and uncertainty.

The expanded checks build on a wider immigration crackdown already underway. On March 30, 2026, USCIS said prior screening and vetting measures were "wholly inadequate" and cited Executive Order 14161 along with Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998, which it said restricted entry from 39 countries lacking adequate screening information. A December 2, 2025 policy memorandum also ordered a hold on pending asylum applications and some benefit requests tied to countries listed in Proclamation 10949, along with a broad re-review of certain approved cases for applicants who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021.

The FBI has long been part of immigration vetting through its National Name Check Program, which searches FBI indices and name variations. But the latest move pushes that role deeper into routine legal immigration processing, raising the odds that more people already in line will wait longer for decisions even when their eligibility does not change.