What happened
In December 2025 and January 2026, USCIS issued two internal policy memos that told its officers to stop deciding certain cases. The first, PM-602-0192 (December 2, 2025), placed a hold on every pending asylum application (Form I-589), “regardless of the alien’s country of nationality,” and on pending benefit requests, including Forms I-485, I-90, I-751 and I-131, filed by people whose country of birth or citizenship is one of the 19 countries named in Presidential Proclamation 10949. The second, PM-602-0194 (January 1, 2026), extended the hold to all pending applications from people from the 39 countries in Proclamation 10998, and from people traveling on Palestinian Authority documents. Both memos said the agency had “considered that this direction may result in delay to the adjudication of some pending applications” and had decided that burden was “necessary and appropriate.”
Two federal courts have since stepped in. On June 5, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS, vacated both memos, and USCIS said in June that they “should be treated as if they are not in effect.” Then, on August 24, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in Red Eagle Law, L.C. v. Edlow, enjoined the same two memos and ordered that “USCIS is ordered to adjudicate applications in the normal course of USCIS’ process.” That court also certified a class: people who are citizens or natives of the 39 countries, or of the Palestinian Authority, whose asylum application or other benefit application was subject to the holds and had not received a final decision.
USCIS posted its response on August 28. In its words: “USCIS strongly disagrees with the Court’s order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review.” It added that it “will issue updated instructions pending further litigation developments.” Both memos now carry a banner on uscis.gov stating that they are no longer in effect due to court orders.
Who this is about
Per the memos and the August 28 alert, the holds reached two groups. The first is anyone with an asylum application pending, whatever their nationality. The second is people whose country of birth or citizenship is one of the 39 countries in the two proclamations. In this hemisphere, that list includes Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti, as well as Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda; the full list is in Proclamation 10998. PM-602-0194 carved out a few exceptions that kept moving, among them Form I-90 (replacing a green card), Form N-565 and Form N-600, and certain initial work-permit applications.
The alert does not say how many cases were held, how long it will take to work through them, or in what order. It does not say what “updated instructions” will contain. And it does not mention cases outside these two groups: a slow case from a country not on the list was not slow because of these memos.
What it does not mean
- It does not mean every delayed case was on hold under these memos. Cases take time for many reasons; the memos covered specific groups.
- It does not mean a held case ends in approval. The order requires USCIS to decide them in the normal course; a decision can be an approval or a denial.
- It does not mean the matter is closed. USCIS said it disagrees and pointed to “possible further judicial review,” and it has promised new instructions.
- It does not change anything for people who are not from the listed countries and have no asylum application pending.
What to do with this
If your application has been waiting without a decision and you were born in or are a citizen of one of the listed countries, or you have an asylum application pending, this is worth raising with a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative. They can look at your receipt notices and explain whether your case was among those affected and what the court orders mean for it. The organizations below are a place to start, and every city page on this directory lists more.
Advocasí is not a law firm. We explain what a policy says and help people prepare their own paperwork once a qualified advisor has told them which path applies.