Federal District Court Rules USCIS 39-Country Pause Unlawful

On June 5, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island vacated and set aside a series of Trump administration policies that had indefinitely halted the processing of immigration applications for individuals from 39 countries. The court ruled that the Benefits Hold Policy, the Global Asylum Hold Policy, the Comprehensive Re-Review Policy, and the Country-Specific Factors Policy were unlawful, finding that they violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and were collectively arbitrary and capricious.

Who is affected by this ruling?
These policies affected applications for temporary nonimmigrant status, adjustment of status to permanent residence (green card), employment authorization documents (EADs), naturalization/citizenship, and other USCIS immigration benefits.

The 39 countries affected by these USCIS policies were as follows: Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Burma (Myanmar), Chad, Congo (Republic of the Congo), Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, The Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

What does this mean for affected cases?
The ruling requires USCIS to resume processing of the affected applications; however, the government is expected to appeal the decision. ImLaw will continue to monitor developments and keep clients informed.
 
You can read more below:  Memorandum and Order – #28 in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (D.R.I., 1:26-cv-00132) – CourtListener.com

US judge invalidates Trump policies targeting immigrants from 39 countries