By Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Immigration Correspondent
Updated April 29, 2026 / 8:55 PM EDT
Internal government documents obtained by CBS News show the Trump administration is subjecting broad classes of people seeking legal immigration benefits to expanded security screenings and pausing some cases while the changes are put in place.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last week circulated internal guidance directing officers to resubmit pending applications for benefits to the FBI for expanded background checks. The guidance covers a range of applications, including asylum claims, green card requests and naturalization petitions, and instructs officers not to approve pending cases that have not completed the new screenings.
USCIS has long relied on FBI databases to vet applicants for national security and public safety concerns. The expanded checks stem from new access the FBI provided to USCIS after a February executive order from President Trump that directed the Justice Department to give immigration officials broader access to federal criminal records to better identify criminal actors.
The enhanced screenings apply to pending applications that require fingerprints, such as green card and naturalization cases, and to sponsorship petitions filed for relatives or fiancés of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Officers were told to resubmit fingerprint-based checks if the FBI information for a case was received before April 27. The guidance says resubmissions are unnecessary when an officer intends to deny an application.
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler told CBS News the agency has implemented new security checks to strengthen vetting through expanded access to federal criminal databases, and that processing is ongoing. He said any delays should be brief and that the agency prioritizes public safety.
The move is the latest in a series of measures by the Trump administration to more tightly vet people seeking immigration benefits. Since returning to the White House, the administration has introduced policies requiring more extensive background collection, tapped social media for evidence, and slowed or halted processing of many applications. That includes a pause on certain asylum cases overseen by USCIS and a freeze on legal immigration requests from nationals of 39 countries named in a presidential proclamation imposing travel restrictions on national security grounds.
The asylum pause was narrowed last month, as first reported by CBS News, but it still applies to immigrants from the 39 countries covered by the travel ban.