“Affirmative” asylum applications are filed with USCIS by people not facing removal. These applications are heard by asylum officers and done in a non-adversarial interview process.

By contrast, asylum applications adjudicated in immigration court in front of immigration judges are “defensive.”

In addition, 500,000 people from those 19 countries who got green cards during the Biden admin, plus tens of thousands who got asylum/refugee status, as well as many others who received other benefits, now have to worry about potentially being called back in for a “re-review” (whatever that means).

What this means in practice is that Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and nationals of 16 other countries now will be unable to acquire ANY immigration benefit during until the USCIS Director lifts this hold — including people who were days away from become U.S. citizens.

USCIS says it will use this pause to conduct a “comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from [the 19 travel ban countries] who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021,” or even outside that timeframe “when appropriate.”