Federal Court Vacates USCIS Policies Freezing Immigration Benefits for 39 Countries
A federal court has issued a major ruling that will immediately affect USCIS processing for thousands of applicants. On June 5, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island vacated four USCIS policies that had halted or restricted adjudications for individuals from 39 countries designated under recent presidential travel proclamations.
The court held that USCIS acted without statutory authority, violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and relied on pretextual national‑security justifications. As a result, the following policies are now invalid nationwide:
Benefits Hold Policy – froze adjudications for all immigration benefits for nationals of 39 countries.
Global Asylum Hold Policy – paused all asylum and withholding cases, regardless of nationality.
Comprehensive Re‑Review Policy – reopened and re‑reviewed previously approved cases for affected nationals.
Country‑Specific Factors Policy – required officers to treat an applicant’s country of origin as a “significant negative factor” in discretionary decisions.
What This Means for Applicants
USCIS must now:
Resume normal adjudication of asylum, work permits, green cards, and naturalization applications.
Stop using country of origin as a blanket negative discretionary factor.
Cease re‑reviewing previously approved cases unless another lawful basis exists.
Remove adjudication holds tied solely to nationality.
USCIS may appeal or seek a stay, but unless a stay is granted, the agency is legally required to comply with the ruling.