The Trump administration is pausing all immigration applications, including green card requests, for people from 19 countries banned from travel earlier this year as part of sweeping immigration changes following the shooting of two National Guard troops.

“It’s sad,” said Zing Sung, 41, whose home country of Myanmar is also affected by the decision.

Sung immigrated to the United States in 2005 and now runs a store on the south side of Indianapolis. She said she has relatives in her home country, Myanmar, which has been torn apart by civil war since 2021.

“If they cannot come to the United States or somewhere — it’s hard to live — they will be dying or something,” Sung said.

The pause puts on hold a wide range of immigration-related decisions, such as green card applications and naturalizations, for immigrants from the 19 countries the Trump administration has described as high-risk. It is up to the agency’s director, Joseph Edlow, to decide when to lift the pause, the memo said.

The administration in June banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access for those from seven others, citing national security concerns.

The travel ban applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Restricted access applies to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.