USCIS orders new FBI checks for pending immigration cases, delaying approvals by months
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has directed officers to resubmit pending fingerprint-based applications received before April 27, 2026, for expanded FBI criminal database checks. The directive covers green cards, naturalization, asylum claims, and family sponsorship petitions — affecting hundreds of thousands of cases currently in the pipeline. USCIS confirmed the checks are underway, citing national security, and says delays will be brief. Independent legal analysis suggests otherwise.
The cutoff date is fixed and the resubmission process is already running. Applicants with US travel booked around expected approval dates face real exposure.
The Trump administration has ordered USCIS to run every pending immigration application through a new layer of FBI criminal screening — a sweeping directive that pauses approvals across the board and puts US-bound travel plans in direct jeopardy. Applications for green cards, citizenship, asylum, and family petitions filed before April 27, 2026, are all subject to resubmission. That is not a narrow carve-out. That is the bulk of the active caseload.
Internal guidance, reported this week, confirms the resubmission order is already in effect. USCIS issued a public statement acknowledging the checks and framing any resulting delays as “brief in nature.” The agency’s own backlog — exceeding one million pending cases before this directive landed — makes that characterization difficult to defend.
For travelers who have booked US flights around an expected approval date, the calculus has changed. Approvals that were weeks away may now be months away. Boarding a US-bound flight without valid immigration status is not a gray area.
What the directive actually covers
The February 2026 executive order granted USCIS maximum access to the FBI‘s criminal history database under 8 U.S.C. § 1105, expanding well beyond the standard vetting framework that had been in place for years. The April 27 cutoff is the operational trigger: any fingerprint-based application received before that date must now be resubmitted for secondary screening, regardless of how far along in processing it was.
Affected categories are broad. Green card applicants, people seeking naturalization, asylum seekers, and US citizens sponsoring foreign relatives are all in scope. Denials are exempt from resubmission — only pending approvals are caught in the new net. That distinction matters less than it sounds, because the cases most affected are precisely those closest to a positive outcome.
Official policy guidance is published at uscis.gov/policy-manual. The broader security environment around US travel — including the fact that TSA has shared data on over 31,000 travelers with ICE, resulting in more than 800 arrests since early 2025 — makes clear this directive does not exist in isolation.
| Application type | Resubmission required | Typical processing (pre-directive) | Estimated added delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green card (permanent residence) | Yes — if filed before Apr 27 | 8–24 months | 3–6 months (est.) |
| Naturalization (citizenship) | Yes — if filed before Apr 27 | 8–12 months | 3–6 months (est.) |
| Asylum application | Yes — if filed before Apr 27 | 12–48 months | 3–6 months (est.) |
| Family sponsorship petition | Yes — if filed before Apr 27 | 12–36 months | 3–6 months (est.) |
Why “brief delays” is not the right frame
The 2017 executive orders under the first Trump administration offer the clearest precedent. Enhanced FBI and Interpol checks triggered by those orders lasted roughly four months and produced a delay spike exceeding 50% across affected visa categories, according to State Department data from that period. Middle East applicants bore the sharpest impact, with mass cancellations following. The 2020 COVID-era vetting surge pushed green card timelines out by six to twelve months. Neither episode resembled what USCIS would call “brief.”
The current directive lands on a system already under strain. A backlog exceeding one million cases does not absorb a mass resubmission order without consequence. Secondary FBI screenings require coordination between USCIS and the Bureau’s criminal history unit — a process that does not scale instantly. Every case resubmitted joins a new queue, and that queue has no published processing target.
The policy applies uniformly to applicants worldwide. There is no departure-region carve-out, no nationality exemption, no fast-track for cases that were days from approval.
Steps to take if you have a pending case
Hundreds of thousands of pending applicants now face an indeterminate approval pause — and any US travel booked around an expected decision date carries real cancellation risk.
- Check your case status immediately: Use your receipt number at uscis.gov/casestatus to confirm current status. If your application was received before April 27, 2026, assume it is subject to resubmission and plan accordingly.
- Do not book US flights against an unconfirmed approval date: Until USCIS issues a written decision, your travel eligibility is not confirmed. Rebooking fees and denied boardings are the practical risk — not a theoretical one.
- Consult an immigration attorney: The American Immigration Lawyers Association directory at AILA.org connects applicants with qualified counsel. An attorney can flag whether your specific case type is in scope and prepare supporting documentation for the screening process.
- Request expedited processing if you have documented urgent need: USCIS has an expedite criteria framework. Severe financial loss or urgent humanitarian need may qualify. This does not guarantee approval but can move a case to the front of the secondary screening queue.
- Track the DOJ court filing deadline: Legal challenges to the underlying executive order have a key Department of Justice filing deadline of May 15, 2026. A successful challenge could halt resubmissions; a failed one locks the current process in place through at least the summer.
Watch: The USCIS quarterly processing times report, expected around June 15, 2026, will be the first hard data point on how much delay the resubmission wave is actually generating. If average delays exceed 90 days, widespread travel disruption for pending applicants becomes the baseline, not the exception.
Which immigration applications are affected by the new FBI screening requirement?
Green card applications, naturalization petitions, asylum claims, and family sponsorship petitions filed before April 27, 2026, are all subject to resubmission for expanded FBI criminal database checks. Applications that have already been denied are exempt. Only pending cases requiring fingerprints fall under the directive.
How long will the additional FBI screening take?
USCIS has stated delays will be “brief,” but has not published a specific processing target for the secondary screening queue. Based on comparable vetting expansions in 2017 and 2020, independent legal analysts estimate added delays of three to six months for most affected case types. The USCIS quarterly processing report expected around June 15, 2026, will provide the first official data.
Can I still travel to the US while my application is being resubmitted?
That depends entirely on your current immigration status, not your pending application. If you already hold valid status permitting US entry, you may travel. If your travel eligibility depends on the pending approval, you cannot enter until that approval is granted. Do not book US-bound flights against an unconfirmed decision date.
Does this affect travelers from specific countries more than others?
No. The directive applies uniformly to all applicants worldwide regardless of nationality or departure region. There is no country-specific carve-out or regional exemption in the current guidance.
