The US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a fresh warning targeting Green Card applicants and cited recent cases where layers of screening threw up shocking discoveries about the applicants and appropriate actions have been taken. In one case, the USCIS said, screening revealed that an applicant was wanted for homicide by the Mexican government. In another incident, a Canadian with a pending Green Card application in the US was arrested at his immigration interview when it was discovered that he had recently been charged with drunk driving and then caused injury to an officer resisting arrest.
“Green cards are for those who follow the law, not those who break it,” the USCIS said in one message. “Crime doesn’t lead to a green card, it leads to arrest and removal,” another message said. Green Card applications are being most closely watched by the immigration as Green Cards are the first step to getting US citizenship, which also comes with welfare benefits like Emergency Medicaid. After five years as a Green Card holder, immigrants can avail of Medicaid, food stamps in some cases and can also apply for naturalization.
Indefinite pause on Green Card applications from 75 countries
The new warnings from the USCIS came as the State Department paused all immigrant visas from 75 countries, to be effective from January 21. The ban will continue until the administration conducts a reassessment of how much government support these nationals are receiving while living in the US. The visa pause does not impact travelers or students unless their countries are already on the travel ban list. The list of the 75 countries on Green Card pause includes: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. Go to Source