A federal district court has vacated USCIS policies that paused adjudication of immigration benefit requests filed by nationals of 39 countries. A federal district court in Rhode Island has vacated USCIS policies that paused adjudication of immigration benefit requests filed by nationals of 39 countries who were subject to the administration’s expanded travel restrictions. The ruling removes legal barriers to processing thousands of pending cases and shifts the adjudication landscape significantly for practitioners advising clients from affected countries.
What changed
In its June 5 decision, the court concluded that USCIS lacked statutory authority to implement the challenged policies and found them unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act. With this Court decision, USCIS’s Policy Memoranda that implemented these pauses, holds, re-reviews and country-specific determinations are no longer in effect.
The court vacated four distinct USCIS policies: The Benefits Hold Policy, which placed an indefinite hold on adjudication of all immigration benefit requests, including adjustment of status, employment authorization, and naturalization, filed by individuals from the thirty-nine Travel Ban Countries; The Global Asylum Hold Policy, which halted adjudication of all asylum and withholding of removal applications, regardless of the applicant’s country of origin; The Comprehensive Re-Review Policy, which required USCIS to re-review and reconsider already approved benefit requests for any individual from a Travel Ban Country who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021; and The Country-Specific Factors Policy, which updated the USCIS Policy Manual to direct adjudicators to treat country-specific factors from the travel ban as a significant negative factor when weighing discretion in benefit adjudications.
The decision is not final. The government is expected to seek a stay of the court’s decision or pursue an appeal, either of which could delay or alter the practical impact of the ruling.
Why it matters
This ruling removes the primary legal justification for the holds that have paralyzed case processing since late 2025. If implemented, the court’s ruling could allow long-pending employment-based adjustment of status applications and related employment authorization requests to resume adjudication. Affirmative asylum interviews and decisions should resume nationwide. Adjustment, work permit, travel document, and naturalization cases that were paused under categorical country-based holds should return to ordinary case processing.
However, uncertainty remains. USCIS has yet to issue guidance regarding implementation, case processing priorities, or the treatment of applications previously subject to the pause. Until USCIS either complies with the order or obtains an appellate stay, the status quo is in legal limbo—cases may resume adjudication, but practitioners cannot yet advise clients with certainty.
For clients from affected countries with pending cases, the tactical question is timing: will USCIS implement the ruling immediately, or will an appeal-and-stay motion preserve the hold pending appellate review?
Way forward
-
Check case status now. Log into myUSCIS for any pending applications filed by nationals of the 39 designated countries. The case history may show the “hold” designation that should no longer apply.
-
File an expedited inquiry or motion. If your case remains on hold post-June 5, consider filing a status inquiry or, if appropriate, a motion to resume adjudication, citing the district court’s June 5 vacatur order.
-
Monitor USCIS guidance. Watch USCIS’s policy or newsroom channels for any official statement on implementation, compliance timeline, or appeals. A guidance memo may confirm or complicate the court’s directive.
-
Prepare for appellate motion practice. The government may seek an emergency stay from the First Circuit within days. Be ready to respond if your client’s case is cited in briefing, and track the appellate docket.
Disclaimer
Fola is a software company, not a law firm, and this article is not legal advice. The information is accurate as of the publication date above but should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with a licensed immigration attorney. Federal court decisions can be stayed, appealed, or reversed; policy and procedure can change without notice. Always verify the current status of USCIS policies by checking the official USCIS website or the specific court filing before advising a client or making a filing decision.