A federal court in Rhode Island ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to reactivate immigration processing for citizens of 39 countries on June 11, 2026. The ruling nullifies policies that delayed work permits and green cards, forcing the agency to treat specific restrictive memoranda as if they were never in effect.
The Nullification of PM 602-0192 and PA 2025-26
The legal battle, centered on a lawsuit filed by the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, has fundamentally stripped USCIS of its ability to pause applications based on a specific set of internal directives. According to Diario Las Américas, the court ordered the immediate annulment of three specific policy instruments: PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and PA 2025-26.
These documents functioned as the operational engine for a broader strategy to freeze immigration benefits. By declaring them void, the court has effectively wiped the slate clean for thousands of pending files. USCIS confirmed that these policies must now be treated "as if they were not in effect," meaning the agency can no longer use them as a legal shield to delay adjudications.
The court’s reasoning was clear: the agency overstepped. The judge concluded that the actions taken by USCIS exceeded its legal authority and clashed with federal provisions governing how immigration procedures must be handled. This creates a critical precedent, suggesting that internal agency memoranda cannot override statutory requirements for processing applications, even when the agency claims a national security mandate.
Processing Resumption for 39 High-Risk Nations
The scope of the ruling is vast, impacting citizens from 39 different countries. While the full list isn’t detailed, the impact is most acute for immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua. For months, or in some cases years, applicants from these regions found their lives in limbo as their paperwork sat untouched.
The freeze didn’t just slow things down; it targeted specific, life-altering benefits.
- Employment Authorization Documents (work permits)
- Permanent Residency (green cards)
- Naturalization applications
- Specific asylum-related benefits
Beyond the pauses, the court invalidated a particularly aggressive criterion that allowed USCIS to use a solicitor’s nationality as a "negative factor" when analyzing discretionary benefits. This removes a layer of systemic bias that had been baked into the agency’s review process for citizens of the affected nations.
"In practical terms, this means that cases that were held up solely by these policies should begin to move again.
National Security Proclamations vs. Legal Authority
To understand why these freezes happened, one must look at the executive orders of 2025. USCIS built its restrictive framework on two specific Presidential Proclamations: Proclamation 10949, issued June 4, 2025, and Proclamation 10998, issued December 16, 2025.
The administration framed these measures as essential for "restricting the entry of foreign citizens to protect the United States from foreign terrorists and other threats to national security and public safety." USCIS argued that the pauses were necessary to address a lack of security investigations and background checks.
However, the court’s decision highlights a tension between executive security claims and administrative law. While the government can set broad entry policies, the court found that the specific method USCIS used to implement these restrictions—via internal memoranda that bypassed standard legal procedures—was unlawful. The agency attempted to use security as a blanket justification for procedural stagnation, a move the Rhode Island court ultimately rejected.
What Applicants Can Expect in the Coming Days
For the thousands of people now seeing their cases reactivate, the news is a relief, but experts warn against expecting overnight results. The removal of the pause is not a "fast pass" or a guarantee of approval.
"It is not going to be granted a special benefit, it is simply going to be returning the opportunity for their cases to be adjudicated under normal immigration laws and procedures.
Despite the bureaucratic backlog, some movement is already happening. Immigration attorney Mayron Gallardo reported that some work permits, which had been significantly delayed, have already begun to arrive. However, he cautioned applicants to keep their expectations realistic, noting that USCIS still operates under its own standard processing timelines.
The reality is that while the legal barrier has been removed, the physical backlog remains. A case that was frozen for a year doesn’t automatically jump to the front of the line; it simply returns to the active queue.
USCIS Resistance and Potential Appeals
While USCIS is complying with the order, the agency is not conceding the point. In a statement released on its website, the agency made it clear that it remains in disagreement with the court’s interpretation of the law.
"USCIS strongly disagrees with the court’s order, but will comply with its terms while a possible additional judicial review is considered.
This language signals that the battle is likely far from over. Legal experts suggest the government will probably seek a review in a higher court to reinstate its ability to pause cases based on national security concerns. Until such a review is completed or a higher court stays the ruling, the agency is bound to process the cases.
For now, the immediate future involves USCIS issuing updated instructions to its staff to ensure the annulled policies are ignored. For the immigrants of those 39 countries, the next 30 to 90 days will be the true test of whether the agency can translate a court order into actual approvals.
