New visa journey restrictions and immigration enforcement protocols—introducing superior identification measures and stricter residency checks for green-card holders—issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the moment are in impact, as of December 26, 2025.
Why it Matters
These measures, launched underneath President Donald Trump’s administration, purpose to strengthen nationwide safety and modernize border administration utilizing superior applied sciences.
The new guidelines authorize federal authorities to observe the worldwide journey of non-U.S. residents—together with lawful everlasting residents—and apply particularly heightened scrutiny to green-card candidates and holders from 19 international locations, which have been flagged for safety dangers.
What to Know
Two major rule adjustments at the moment are in impact:
Biometric Entry-Exit System
All non-U.S. residents, together with inexperienced card holders, will now have their pictures taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at each entry and exit level throughout airports, land crossings, and seaports. This consists of kids underneath 14 and adults over 79—teams which have been beforehand exempt.
In addition to photographs, the CBP may additionally resolve to gather fingerprints and iris scans and match them in opposition to current journey paperwork as a part of the Traveler Verification Service.
Green Card Reviews for Certain Countries
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will now conduct intensive evaluations of inexperienced playing cards issued to residents from 19 international locations—Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela—resulting from issues about earlier vetting and approval requirements.
For inexperienced card holders, particularly, these new guidelines imply:
- Mandatory biometric checks: Being photographed—and probably fingerprinted—at each U.S. border crossing when coming into and leaving the nation.
- Heightened scrutiny: Greater questioning at borders, particularly for these from the 19 flagged international locations.
- Documentation readiness: Ensuring all paperwork is updated to reply rapidly to official requests.
- Processing uncertainty: Potential delays for pending or future green-card or visa purposes.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Customs and Border Protection defined, in its Federal Register submitting: “Implementing an integrated biometric entry-exit system that compares biometric data of aliens collected upon arrival with biometric data collected upon departure helps address the national security concerns arising from the threat of terrorism, the fraudulent use of legitimate travel documentation, aliens who remain in the United States beyond their period of authorized stay (overstays) or are present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, as well as incorrect or incomplete biographic data for travelers.”
What Happens Next
The rollout of the biometric entry-exit system will proceed over the subsequent three to 5 years, beginning with main airports and increasing to land and sea ports. DHS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are anticipated to challenge extra steerage on particular protocols for green-card evaluations and any additional documentation necessities for people from the listed international locations. Green-card holders—particularly these from the 19 flagged nations—are suggested to maintain information updated, monitor communications from DHS and USCIS, and seek the advice of immigration attorneys if touring or awaiting standing selections.
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