Trump Administration Reduces Work Permit Validity for Refugees and Asylum Seekers to 18 Months Following Security Concerns

The Trump administration has significantly reduced the validity period for work permits issued to refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants from five years to 18 months, as announced on Thursday.

This latest restriction comes as part of the administration's broader immigration crackdown, occurring just two days after immigration applications were suspended for citizens from 19 nations.

The policy change follows an incident where two National Guard members were allegedly shot by an Afghan man who entered the United States through a resettlement program after the 2021 American military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Joseph Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), directly referenced the November 26 shooting in Washington DC as justification for the new restrictions.

"Reducing the maximum validity period for employment authorization will ensure that those seeking to work in the United States do not threaten public safety or promote harmful anti-American ideologies," Edlow stated.

He further emphasized, "After the attack on National Guard service members in our nation's capital by an alien who was admitted into this country by the previous administration, it's even more clear that USCIS must conduct frequent vetting of aliens."

According to USCIS, this work permit limitation will apply to individuals admitted as refugees, those granted asylum, and migrants whose deportation has been temporarily suspended.

Earlier in the week, the administration had already halted immigration applications for citizens from 19 countries under travel restrictions, including Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Venezuela, Sudan, and Somalia, affecting both green card and citizenship processing.

President Trump, who campaigned on promises to deport millions of undocumented migrants, declared following the National Guard shooting that he intended to "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries."