Federal Court Orders USCIS to Resume Work Permit Processing
A federal judge ruled USCIS must restart processing work permit applications.
Why it matters: Judicial intervention forces USCIS to stop pausing immigration benefits, affecting legal practitioners handling work authorization nationwide. This ensures smoother hiring and onboarding for employers relying on foreign nationals from the designated countries.
- June 5, 2026: Rhode Island federal court vacated four USCIS policies freezing immigration benefits.
- Policies included Benefit Hold, Global Asylum Hold, Comprehensive Re-Review, and Country-Specific Factors.
- Affected nationals come from 39 designated 'high-risk countries,' impacting work permit and related applications.
- June 11, 2026: Court ordered government to report steps taken to comply within 24 hours.
On June 5, 2026, Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island vacated four controversial USCIS policies that had paused or delayed immigration benefit adjudications. These policies affected nationals from 39 designated "high-risk countries" and included the Benefits Hold Policy, Global Asylum Hold Policy, Comprehensive Re-Review Policy, and the Country-Specific Factors Policy.
The court found these measures violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and exceeded USCIS's statutory authority, effectively discriminating based on national origin.
Following the ruling, on June 11, 2026, the court mandated that "the Government has an obligation to immediately comply with this Order" and required the government to submit a status report within 24 hours detailing compliance steps. This order affects all pending USCIS cases involving nationals from the affected countries, notably including work permit (EAD), adjustment of status, naturalization, and other related applications.
- The decision removes barriers for individuals from travel-ban countries, enabling resumption of stalled applications and reducing disruptions in hiring, onboarding, research, and training for employers and legal teams.
- This ruling underscores that federal immigration policy cannot shut down legal immigration channels or discriminate based on national origin, reinforcing principles central to immigration law practice.
Legal professionals and in-house counsel should prepare for the immediate resumption of USCIS processing on these previously delayed applications. The timeline and detailed mechanisms for resumption remain to be fully clarified by USCIS.
For more details, see coverage by Nixon Peabody LLP and Associated Press.
By the numbers:
- 39 — number of 'high-risk countries' affected by USCIS policies vacated by the court
- June 5, 2026 — date when the federal court vacated the USCIS immigration benefit freeze policies
- June 11, 2026 — date when the court ordered government compliance reporting within 24 hours
What's next: USCIS is expected to outline implementation steps and timelines soon, clarifying how quickly backlogged applications will move forward.