A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration unlawfully barred applicants from 39 travel-ban countries from receiving decisions on asylum, work permits, green cards, and citizenship. The ruling vacates the Global Asylum Hold Policy, which suspended affirmative asylum adjudications across the country, and also vacates a benefits hold that froze adjudications for people from 39 designated countries, as well as a re-review policy that reopened past approvals for some applicants from those countries.
What changed
A coalition of immigrant service organizations and labor unions filed suit in March, challenging policies adopted starting in November by USCIS. Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island ruled that USCIS had adopted unlawful policies targeting people from 39 African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries.
The vacated policies include the Global Asylum Hold (which suspended affirmative asylum interviews and approvals nationwide), a country-based benefits hold (freezing adjustment, work permit, travel document, and naturalization cases for the 39 countries), a re-review policy (reopening past approvals), and guidance treating country of origin as a negative discretionary factor.
Judge McConnell wrote: “USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth.” He concluded: “The agency has violated the very immigration laws that Congress has charged it with administering, as well as the administrative laws that govern the agency’s actions.”
Judge McConnell’s order rejected the legal basis for the four challenged policies and found the government’s national security rationale pretextual.
Why it matters
Processing resumes immediately. Affirmative asylum interviews and decisions should resume nationwide, and adjustment, work permit, travel document, and naturalization cases that were paused under categorical country-based holds should return to ordinary case processing.
Broad reach. The ruling would impact all pending cases at USCIS involving people from the travel ban countries, not just those included in the lawsuit.
No reopening of approvals. Previously approved cases cannot be reopened solely because of nationality or an entry date tied to those policies.
Practitioners should note: The re-review policy that reopened past approvals for some applicants from the 39 countries is also vacated. If your client received an approval that was reopened under this policy, this ruling may allow you to challenge that reopening on appeal.
Way forward
- Check case status. Pull USCIS portal updates weekly for any pending cases with beneficiaries from the 39 affected countries. Processing should now follow standard timeframes.
- Respond to RFEs. Respond to any USCIS notice by the stated deadline and update any address change through USCIS right away.
- Document the hold. Keep copies of receipt notices, RFEs, interview notices, and prior approval notices for anyone affected by the vacated holds.
- Verify fees. As of June 2026, applicants should verify current amounts at the USCIS fee schedule, as wrong fees can lead to rejection.
Disclaimer
This article is published by Fola, a software company, not a law firm. It does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed immigration attorney about your specific case. Court decisions and agency policy can change without notice. Always verify the current status of this ruling and any agency guidance against the authoritative sources linked above before advising a client or filing.