Stuck in limbo: millions of professionals risk losing legal status under Trump pause

The U.S. travel ban against 39 countries has thrown thousands of people into legal limbo, as the Trump administration has paused reviewing visa, green card, work permit, and citizenship applications. Nicole Xu for NPR hide caption toggle caption Nicole Xu for NPR The lives of hundreds of thousands of people were thrown into limbo after the Trump administration hit pause on reviewing their visa, green card, work permit and citizenship applications. The pause is targeted at those born in one of 39 countries, including Nigeria, Myanmar and Venezuela. The U.S. imposed travel restrictions on most of those countries after an Afghan national shot two National Guardsmen on a Washington, D.C. street in late November. Five months in, and the impact has been catastrophic for many people from those countries already living in the U.S., whether they're going to school or working in lucrative labor sectors like oil and gas, technology and medicine. NPR spoke with more than a dozen people on condition of anonymity, because they all fear adverse consequences for their immigration applications if they speak publicly. They asked NPR to not use their full names and name them only by their first initials. Their experiences mirror each other: sudden financial insecurity, months of unemployment, academic and professional opportunities lost — and a crippling anxiety over the abrupt inability to live or work legally in the U.S. …