A major federal court decision issued today may have immediate and meaningful consequences for thousands of individuals and families affected by the Trump Administration’s country-specific restrictions on Immigration benefits processing.

On June 5, 2026, Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a 135-page ruling in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS, striking down the full framework behind USCIS’s adjudication pause. For individuals whose applications have been delayed, placed on hold, or reopened without explanation, this decision represents a significant step forward. Notwithstanding this victory, applicants should remain patient – there will likely be challenges to the ruling, and even if USCIS begins adjudication immediately there is likely to be significant backlog of cases subject to the pause and USCIS is already suffering from staffing losses over the last year.

What This Means for Individuals

The court’s ruling vacates—completely cancels—the policies that allowed USCIS to stop or delay adjudicating applications across multiple categories. This ‘vacatur’ is applied nation-wide. The affected policies include:

• The Global Asylum Hold
• USCIS imposed a blanket pause on processing asylum applications nationwide, effectively freezing decisions for asylum seekers regardless of individual circumstances. This meant applicants could not move forward in their cases, leaving many in prolonged uncertainty without adjudication.
• The Benefits Hold (The Adjudication Pause)
• USCIS broadly halted the adjudication of various immigration benefit applications (such as work permits, green cards, and related filings), placing them on indefinite hold. Rather than deciding cases on their merits, the agency delayed action across entire categories, preventing applicants from receiving decisions or moving ahead in the immigration process.
• The 39 countries affected by the Benefits Hold were Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Chad, the 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.
• The Comprehensive Re-Review of already approved cases
• The Country-Specific Factors policy, which treated an applicant’s country of birth as a negative factor

Again, because the court issued nationwide relief, this is not limited to the individuals who brought the lawsuit. It applies to all applicants across the United States.

Why the Court Rejected These Policies

The court identified two fundamental problems that directly affect applicants.

First, USCIS does not have the authority to simply stop processing entire categories of cases. Immigration laws and regulations require the agency to make decisions on applications—it cannot place them into indefinite limbo.

Second, the way these policies were implemented was deeply flawed. The court found that:

• Broad delays were imposed based on very limited factual support
• Entire groups of applicants were affected without individualized review
• People who had followed the legal process and made life decisions in reliance on it were ignored
• The justification for the policies did not hold up under scrutiny

For applicants, the takeaway is simple: the system cannot arbitrarily put your case on hold without a valid legal and factual basis.

What You Should Do If Your Case Was Affected

If you believe your immigration case may have been impacted by any of these policies—whether through delays, unexplained holds, or unexpected re-reviews—this is an important moment to reassess your situation.

At Green and Spiegel, we are actively reviewing cases in light of this decision and advising clients on next steps. Depending on your circumstances, there may now be opportunities to:

• Prompt movement on a delayed application
• Challenge improper processing or continued delays
• Seek clarification or correction of prior USCIS actions

Every case is different, and understanding how this ruling applies to your specific situation is critical.

Contact Green and Spiegel

If you think your case may have been affected, we encourage you to reach out to our office. Our team can evaluate your situation and help determine the most effective path forward in light of this decision.

Importantly, this ruling is likely to be challenged, and delays are likely to persist so Green and Spiegel will continue to monitor and provide updates as we have them.