Court vacates USCIS asylum and benefits adjudication holds (39 countries)

Status: Decided — Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (D.R.I. No. 1:26-cv-00132-JJM-PAS (on appeal: 1st Cir. No. 26-1703))

On June 5, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs and ruled four USCIS policies unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act: the Global Asylum Hold, the Benefits Hold, the Comprehensive Re-Review, and the Country-Specific Factors policies (PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and PA 2025-26). The court vacated and set aside all four; it denied the plaintiffs' request for a permanent injunction and did not reach their constitutional claims. Final judgment was entered June 11, 2026, making the vacatur effective immediately and agency-wide, and USCIS announced it is complying. The government appealed to the First Circuit (No. 26-1703) on June 12, 2026 and asked for a stay of the ruling during the appeal — first in the district court, which heard the motion on July 15, 2026 without ruling, then in the First Circuit itself. On August 14, 2026, the First Circuit granted that stay only in part: while the appeal proceeds, USCIS may once again apply the Comprehensive Re-Review policy — re-reviewing already-approved benefit requests of people from the designated countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021. The stay was otherwise denied, so the asylum and benefits holds and the country-of-origin negative factor remain vacated and out of effect. A second court has now blocked the same policy memos. On August 24, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Edlow, No. 26-cv-04850-CRB, enjoining PM 602-0192 and PM 602-0194 and ordering USCIS to adjudicate applications in the normal course. The court also certified a class: citizens or natives of the 39 countries listed in Proclamations 10949 or 10998 (or the Palestinian Authority) who have a pending asylum application (Form I-589) or another pending USCIS benefit application that was subject to the hold memos and had not received a final decision as of the certification date. USCIS updated its 'Court Order on Hold Policies' alert on August 28, 2026: it says it strongly disagrees with the order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review, and will issue updated instructions. USCIS has not said how this injunction interacts with the First Circuit's August 14 order reviving the Comprehensive Re-Review in the Dorcas appeal. On August 28, 2026 the same court, in Medani v. Trump, No. 26-cv-6332, also temporarily vacated a third memo, PM-602-0193 — the hold on adjustment-of-status applications of FY-2026 Diversity Visa selectees — pending further litigation, ordered USCIS to resume ordinary adjudication of the plaintiffs' pending applications for the rest of the DV fiscal year, and certified a subclass of FY-2026 DV selectees and derivative beneficiaries subject to that hold; USCIS's September 4, 2026 alert says it will comply pending possible further review.

Next step: Two orders now control. The First Circuit's August 14, 2026 partial stay in the Dorcas appeal lets the Comprehensive Re-Review operate while the other vacated policies stay out of effect, and the Northern District of California's August 24, 2026 class-wide injunction in Red Eagle Law v. Edlow separately bars USCIS from applying PM 602-0192 and PM 602-0194 and orders normal-course adjudication. Watch the updated instructions USCIS says it will issue, any appeal or stay motion in Red Eagle Law, and the First Circuit merits briefing in No. 26-1703. USCIS's Court Order on Hold Policies alert was updated August 28, 2026 to reflect the injunction. In *Medani v. Trump*, watch whether USCIS actually decides FY-2026 Diversity Visa adjustment cases before the September 30, 2026 fiscal-year end, and any appeal or stay motion there.

Last editorial review: 2026-09-05 — status can change with a single court ruling. Official source.

What’s happening

On June 5, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs and ruled four USCIS policies unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act: the Global Asylum Hold, the Benefits Hold, the Comprehensive Re-Review, and the Country-Specific Factors policies (PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and PA 2025-26). The court vacated and set aside all four; it denied the plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction and did not reach their constitutional claims. Final judgment was entered June 11, 2026, making the vacatur effective immediately and agency-wide, and USCIS announced it is complying. The government appealed to the First Circuit (No. 26-1703) on June 12, 2026 and asked for a stay of the ruling during the appeal — first in the district court, which heard the motion on July 15, 2026 without ruling, then in the First Circuit itself. On August 14, 2026, the First Circuit granted that stay only in part: while the appeal proceeds, USCIS may once again apply the Comprehensive Re-Review policy — re-reviewing already-approved benefit requests of people from the designated countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021. The stay was otherwise denied, so the asylum and benefits holds and the country-of-origin negative factor remain vacated and out of effect. A second court has now blocked the same policy memos. On August 24, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Edlow, No. 26-cv-04850-CRB, enjoining PM 602-0192 and PM 602-0194 and ordering USCIS to adjudicate applications in the normal course. The court also certified a class: citizens or natives of the 39 countries listed in Proclamations 10949 or 10998 (or the Palestinian Authority) who have a pending asylum application (Form I-589) or another pending USCIS benefit application that was subject to the hold memos and had not received a final decision as of the certification date. USCIS updated its ‘Court Order on Hold Policies’ alert on August 28, 2026: it says it strongly disagrees with the order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review, and will issue updated instructions. USCIS has not said how this injunction interacts with the First Circuit’s August 14 order reviving the Comprehensive Re-Review in the Dorcas appeal.

A third hold memo has now been paused as well. On August 28, 2026, the same court — the Northern District of California — issued an order in Medani v. Trump, No. 26-cv-6332, temporarily vacating PM-602-0193, the memo that held the adjustment-of-status applications of FY-2026 Diversity Visa selectees, pending further litigation. USCIS was ordered, “to the extent practicable and in good faith,” to resume ordinary adjudication of the plaintiffs’ pending applications for the rest of the Diversity Visa fiscal year (federal fiscal year 2026 ends September 30, 2026), and the court certified a subclass of all FY-2026 DV selectees and derivative beneficiaries subject to that hold. USCIS published an alert on September 4, 2026 saying it strongly disagrees with the order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review.

Who it affects

People from 39 “travel-ban” countries — which include large Cuban, Haitian, and Venezuelan communities — whose green-card (adjustment of status), work-permit (EAD), naturalization, and other USCIS benefit applications had been frozen, plus anyone with a pending asylum or withholding-of-removal case, since that hold applied regardless of nationality. With most of the ruling in effect, USCIS is again issuing decisions on these applications and is no longer weighing country of origin as an automatic negative factor. One exception applies since August 14, 2026: while the appeal proceeds, a First Circuit order lets USCIS resume re-reviewing already-approved cases of people from the designated countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021. None of this changes who qualifies for any benefit. Since August 24, 2026, a separate class-wide injunction from the Northern District of California (Red Eagle Law v. Edlow) independently bars USCIS from applying the two hold memos to class members and orders normal-course adjudication.

How it got here

  1. Dec 2, 2025 USCIS issues policy memorandum PM 602-0192, placing an indefinite hold on all pending asylum and withholding-of-removal applications (regardless of nationality) and on benefit applications from nationals of designated 'high-risk' countries, and ordering re-review of already-approved cases.
  2. Dec 16, 2025 Proclamation 10998 expands the travel-restriction list to 39 countries — including Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela — the list USCIS used for the benefits hold and the country-of-origin negative factor.
  3. Jun 5, 2026 Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. grants summary judgment for the plaintiffs, declares all four challenged policies unlawful under the APA, and vacates and sets them aside; he denies a permanent injunction.
  4. Jun 11, 2026 The court enters final judgment; the vacatur takes effect immediately and agency-wide, and USCIS announces it is complying and resuming adjudications.
  5. Jun 19, 2026 After filing its notice of appeal to the First Circuit on June 12 (No. 26-1703), the government asks the district court to stay its ruling pending appeal.
  6. Jul 15, 2026 Chief Judge McConnell hears the government's motion to stay the ruling pending appeal; no ruling issues, and the government presses the same request at the First Circuit.
  7. Aug 14, 2026 A First Circuit panel (Judges Montecalvo, Aframe, and Dunlap) grants the government's emergency stay in part, limited to the Comprehensive Re-Review policy: while the appeal proceeds, USCIS may resume re-reviewing already-approved benefit requests of people from the designated countries who entered the U.S. on or after January 20, 2021. The stay is otherwise denied, so the asylum and benefits holds remain vacated.
  8. Aug 24, 2026 The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issues an order in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Edlow, No. 26-cv-04850-CRB, enjoining PM 602-0192 and PM 602-0194, ordering USCIS to adjudicate applications in the normal course, and certifying a class of people from the 39 listed countries (or the Palestinian Authority) whose asylum or other benefit applications were held under the memos without a final decision.
  9. Aug 28, 2026 USCIS replaces its Court Order on Hold Policies alert: it says it strongly disagrees with the injunction but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review, and will issue updated instructions.
  10. Aug 28, 2026 In Medani v. Trump, No. 26-cv-6332, the Northern District of California temporarily vacates PM-602-0193 (the hold on FY-2026 Diversity Visa adjustment-of-status applications) pending further litigation, orders USCIS to resume ordinary adjudication of the plaintiffs' pending applications for the rest of the DV fiscal year, and certifies a subclass of FY-2026 DV selectees and derivative beneficiaries subject to the hold.
  11. Sep 4, 2026 USCIS publishes its 'Court Order on Diversity Immigrant Visa Program Hold Policy' alert: it strongly disagrees with the Medani order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review.

What to watch next

Two orders now control. The First Circuit’s August 14, 2026 partial stay in the Dorcas appeal lets the Comprehensive Re-Review operate while the other vacated policies stay out of effect, and the Northern District of California’s August 24, 2026 class-wide injunction in Red Eagle Law v. Edlow separately bars USCIS from applying PM 602-0192 and PM 602-0194 and orders normal-course adjudication. Watch the updated instructions USCIS says it will issue, any appeal or stay motion in Red Eagle Law, and the First Circuit merits briefing in No. 26-1703. USCIS’s Court Order on Hold Policies alert was updated August 28, 2026 to reflect the injunction. In Medani v. Trump, watch whether USCIS actually decides FY-2026 Diversity Visa adjustment cases before the September 30, 2026 fiscal-year end, and any appeal or stay motion there.

Official sources

This page is general information about ongoing litigation, not legal advice. A case’s status can change with a single ruling, and outcomes can turn on facts specific to each person. For advice on a specific situation, consult a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative.