By Camilo Montoya-Galvez
Immigration Correspondent
Updated on: April 29, 2026 / 8:55 PM EDT / CBS News
The Trump administration is subjecting broad categories of immigrants applying for legal immigration benefits to enhanced security checks and is pausing some cases while the changes are implemented, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services last week distributed internal guidance instructing officers to resubmit pending applications for benefits — including asylum, green cards and naturalization — to expanded FBI background checks, the documents show. Officers were directed not to approve pending cases that have not undergone the expanded checks.
USCIS has long used FBI databases to vet applicants for national security or public safety concerns. The new screenings were prompted by the FBI granting USCIS greater access to its criminal history database under a February executive order by President Trump directing the Justice Department to provide such access “to the maximum extent permitted by law” to identify criminal actors.
The enhanced checks will affect pending applications that require fingerprints, such as green card and naturalization requests, and will also apply to sponsorship petitions filed on behalf of relatives or fiancées of U.S. citizens or green card holders. USCIS officers were told to re-submit fingerprint-based screenings if the FBI information for those cases was received before April 27. Resubmissions are not required if the officer intends to deny an application.
In a statement to CBS News, 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 added, “Processing is ongoing as we apply these enhanced background check requirements. Any delay in decision issuance should be brief and resolved shortly. USCIS will always prioritize the safety of the American people.”
The expanded checks represent the latest effort by the Trump administration to more aggressively vet people seeking immigration benefits and tighten access to the U.S. immigration system. Since returning to the White House, Trump’s administration has rolled out policies to more heavily scrutinize applications — including gathering evidence from social media — and has slowed or halted processing of many cases. That includes a pause on asylum cases overseen by USCIS and a freeze on legal immigration requests filed by nationals of 39 countries listed on a presidential proclamation imposing travel restrictions on national security grounds.
The USCIS asylum pause was scaled back last month, as first reported by CBS News, but it remains in place for immigrants from the 39 countries covered by the travel ban.