US Maintains Strict Restrictions on Afghan Asylum Seekers Amid Security Concerns
The United States Department of Homeland Security has announced that Afghanistan remains on the list of “high-risk” countries, and the stringent security screening process for Afghan nationals will continue unchanged. While some asylum restrictions have been eased for nationals of low-risk countries, these changes do not apply to Afghanistan.
This decision follows a November 2025 incident when an Afghan asylum seeker attacked a member of the US National Guard in Washington, resulting in the death of one soldier and injuring another. After this event, the Trump administration implemented a series of restrictive measures targeting asylum seekers, particularly Afghans.
These measures include halting the processing of asylum applications, conducting comprehensive reviews of Afghan immigrant files, and imposing strict limitations on the Special Immigrant Visa program for former US military collaborators. The Department of Homeland Security emphasized that “the highest level of security screening and evaluation for all foreign nationals continues without interruption,” with no relaxation in procedures.
Meanwhile, US immigration officials have announced the lifting of the suspension on asylum application reviews for applicants from low-risk countries. Authorities stated that this will allow them to focus resources and capacity more intensively on cases from high-risk countries, including Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is among approximately 39 countries, including Mali, Nigeria, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, and Sierra Leone, designated by US officials as providing insufficient and unreliable information for immigration security assessments. Officials warn that previous weaknesses in permanent residency and citizenship application reviews have posed public safety risks and have even resulted in approvals of cases deemed unacceptable.
The impact of these policies on Afghan migrants in the US has been significant. The issuance of green cards for many asylum seekers has been halted or left pending, some individuals have been detained, and others face the risk of deportation.
At the same time, thousands of former US military collaborators and Afghan interpreters remain in uncertain conditions. Many are in Afghanistan or neighboring countries facing serious security threats, and dozens of families awaiting transfer in temporary centers such as Doha are now enduring prolonged uncertainty.
