Federal Court Strikes Down USCIS Pause on Benefits for Nationals of 39 Countries
A federal court has handed immigrants a major victory, striking down a USCIS policy that paused decisions on immigration benefits for nationals of 39 countries and left thousands of cases in limbo.
The policy, introduced earlier this year, halted adjudications for applications including asylum, green cards, work permits, and naturalization while additional screening measures were conducted. The restrictions applied to nationals from countries identified in a presidential proclamation issued in January.
The court strongly rejected the government's approach.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that USCIS lacked the authority to impose a blanket freeze on applications and found that the agency's actions violated federal administrative law requirements.
The judge wrote that USCIS had effectively created “a new rule” without following the procedures required under federal law, leading the court to vacate the policy.
The impact could be far-reaching. The pause affected applicants from 39 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East, delaying benefits that many immigrants rely on to work, travel, or secure permanent legal status.
Immigration attorneys say the ruling should allow affected cases to move forward again, while advocates view the decision as a significant check on the government's ability to broadly suspend immigration benefits based on nationality alone.