Court Ends Indefinite Freeze on Immigration Adjudications for Nationals of 39 Countries

A federal court has invalidated USCIS policy that suspended the adjudication of all asylum applications and applications for immigration benefits for nationals of 39 countries. In a lengthy opinion, a district judge in Rhode Island, John J. McConnell Jr., held that the agency’s decision to indefinitely pause adjudicating applications, principally based on nationality, was unlawful. This outcome echoes a comparable decision from a Massachusetts federal court in May but extends nationwide. Two federal courts reaching the same conclusion within a month sends a strong signal to the Trump administration and the federal agency regarding the lawfulness of their immigration policies.

The federal judge also set aside a separate “re-review” mechanism targeting applicants from travel-banned nations who arrived after January 20, 2021, and had already been approved. The judge rejected the government’s national security rationale since those applicants had already cleared the agency’s own screening.

While this decision is a positive development, a few caveats remain. The government has not signaled its next move, but it tends to appeal such decisions quickly and at times reinstate near-identical policies under a different label. It remains to be seen whether USCIS will begin adjudicating these stalled applications. The ruling also does not cure every delay – others, such as enhanced biometrics re-screening, may persist regardless. Lastly, litigation over the immigrant visa freeze affecting nationals of 75 countries is still pending in New York and Washington, D.C.

We will continue to monitor these developments closely and provide updates as additional information becomes available.

This alert is for informational purposes only.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss these developments further.