District Court Strikes Down Four USCIS Policies That Paused Processing of  Immigration Benefits

Four U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy changes must be reversed, following a U.S. district court decision on June 5. These policies blocked processing for those certain immigrants seeking benefits and reopened already-approved cases for people from countries affected by the USCIS adjudicative hold. 

District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell ruled that USCIS implemented the following policies without legal authority; he also determined that they violate the law:

• Global Asylum Hold: Barring full processing of asylum applications
• Benefits Hold:  Freezing final decisions on Green Card, work permit, citizenship, and other benefits applications for petitions and applications from  certain countries
• Comprehensive Re-Review of Adjudicated Benefits Requests: Reexamining benefits already granted to individuals from certain countries
• Use of Country-Specific Factors in Adjudication: A Policy Manual change treating country-specific factors, like insufficient screening, as negative discretionary factors

In its decision, the court determined that the memos violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because they are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious. The court did not address the plaintiffs’ argument that the policies were issued without notice and comment.

How the policy reversal affects foreign nationals

In previous court cases challenging USCIS policies related to the expanded travel ban, the courts issued decisions that only affected the plaintiffs involved. This ruling differs because the judge vacated the four USCIS policies, which lifted the holds for anyone affected. 

For those whose cases have already been paused or reopened, Manifest immigration attorney Ana Gabriela Urizar says the next best step is to watch for any update from USCIS, and for any development regarding the case as the Government is expected to appeal, which would affect enforcement of the court order, and processing of affected cases. 

Whether these cases begin moving soon, however, depends on whether the federal government challenges the court’s decision. 

“It’s likely that the government will pursue a stay (which, if granted would pause implementation of the decision) and/or appeal,” Urizar says. “If the stay fails, USCIS may begin adjudicating cases until a final order by an appeals court or the Supreme Court, though if this occurs, it may be only temporary.”