As of Thursday, Afghans seeking to apply for what are known as Special Immigrant Visas were being told by the American Embassy in Kabul, the capital, that applications would no longer be accepted, according to Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire.

Officials at the embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was unclear if the visa suspension was related to the president’s new ban, which, in addition to denying visas to citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries, also orders that the number of refugees allowed into America be cut by more than half, to 50,000 this year, from 110,000 in 2016…

Mac McEachin, another official at the organization, said the decision could affect the 2,500 soldiers of the United States Army’s 82nd Airborne Division who might be deployed to Syria. “Now that the world has seen how we turn our backs on our Afghan allies, there is almost no chance that local allies in Syria will be inclined to work with us,” he said.

American military officials are also requesting an increase in troops deployed to Afghanistan.