Federal Judge Orders Immediate Compliance With Ruling Restoring Work-Permit Processing

A federal district judge in Rhode Island admonished the Trump administration on Friday, June 12, for failing to restart adjudication of work-permit and other immigration benefit applications that had been frozen for nationals of 39 so-called “travel-ban” countries. Judge John J. McConnell reminded government lawyers that he had already vacated the policy on June 5 and said there was “no excuse” for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to continue the pause. The judge’s comments came during a status conference in the case Al-Mansour v. Mullin. The now-invalidated policy had barred hundreds of foreign professionals and their dependents—including many working for U.S. tech, health-care and higher-education employers—from renewing Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) or obtaining travel documents. Employers told the court that the freeze had already forced layoffs and project delays. By emphasizing that his order applies nationwide, Judge McConnell cleared the way for immediate resumption of processing and re-employment of affected workers. From a business-immigration standpoint, the ruling removes a major source of uncertainty at a time when companies are finalizing fiscal-year 2027 H-1B filings and summer global-mobility assignments. HR and mobility teams should monitor USCIS processing times closely: practitioners expect a surge of re-filed EAD and advance-parole applications in the coming days, which could lengthen backlogs.



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Employers whose foreign staff lost work authorization should coordinate with counsel to file I-9 reverifications once the new cards arrive. The decision also underscores an emerging theme of 2026: federal courts are scrutinizing policy changes that the administration introduced without notice-and-comment rule-making. Similar Administrative Procedure Act challenges are pending against the prevailing-wage NPRM and the OPT STEM-extension cap. Companies should expect continued legal turbulence and build flexible assignment timelines into workforce plans. Practically, global-mobility managers should: 1) identify employees from the 39 affected countries whose benefits remain pending; 2) prepare supplemental evidence quickly if Requests for Evidence issue; and 3) anticipate payroll adjustments when EAD validity is restored. Counsel recommend using premium processing and e-filing options wherever available to shorten restart delays.