USA checks green cards – 19 countries affected

Shots in Washington

USA checks green cards – 19 countries affected

A man shoots and critically injures two National Guardsmen near the White House. This now has consequences for green card holders.

After the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, the USA wants to check holders of so-called “green cards” from certain countries. On instructions from US President Donald Trump, he ordered a “thorough and comprehensive review of all ‘green cards’ of all foreigners from all problematic countries,” wrote the head of the US immigration agency USCIS on X. Joseph Edlow initially did not comment on which countries were in focus.

When asked by CNN, the authority said that there were 19 countries that had already been listed in a presidential decree, including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba and Venezuela. A “green card” allows foreign nationals to permanently reside and work in the United States.

The day before, the immigration authority announced that it would suspend the processing of all immigration applications from Afghan nationals until further notice. Because, according to authorities, the suspected perpetrator is a 29-year-old Afghan, Trump also announced checks on all people from Afghanistan who came to the USA under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.

On Wednesday afternoon local time, the gunman opened fire on two National Guardsmen near the White House in front of a subway stop, critically injuring them, according to authorities. Trump classified the incident as an “act of terror.”