“Claims to bona fide relationships with U.S. entities such as these will be evaluated on a case by case basis,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

About 50,000 Iraqis have pending applications for the specially-targeted refugee program. It’s not clear whether they will have to resubmit evidence of their ties to the U.S. or whether the State Department will spontaneously review information it already has on file. Either way, an additional review seems certain to add new delays to an already lengthy process.