Facing escalating judicial pressure, the Trump administration on 13 June acknowledged it is restarting the nationwide processing of asylum applications and other immigration benefits that had been on hold since January. In a filing with the Rhode Island federal court, senior officials said USCIS employees have been instructed to resume normal adjudications and to disregard the four enjoined policy memos that froze cases. The reversal caps a week-long standoff with U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who blasted the government for dragging its feet after his 5 June ruling. McConnell issued a sharply worded follow-up order on 12 June—“There is no excuse this time”—and demanded a same-day status report. Hours later, USCIS deputy director Angelica Alfonso-Royals told the court that the agency was complying “pending possible further judicial review.” The policies at issue included a blanket hold on affirmative asylum claims filed at USCIS, a requirement that previously approved cases be re-adjudicated, and a freeze on applications from nationals of travel-ban countries. Immigration lawyers say more than one million applicants were left unable to work, travel or complete green-card processes.
![Administration Agrees to Restart Asylum and Other Immigration Processing After Judge’s Rebuke]()
For applicants and employers seeking guidance through this renewed adjudication landscape, VisaHQ provides up-to-date resources, personalized document checklists, and real-time status tracking to streamline U.S. immigration filings—visit https://www.visahq.com/united-states/ to see how their team can simplify the process while you focus on broader mobility strategy.
Business-immigration specialists welcome the restart but caution that USCIS now faces a daunting backlog. They urge employers to maintain documentary evidence of the court order in employee files, re-file any applications returned for technical reasons during the pause, and budget for potential overtime costs as foreign workers wait for EAD cards to print. The Department of Justice has already appealed, raising the prospect of renewed uncertainty if a higher court grants a stay. For now, however, asylum seekers and employment-based applicants can expect decisions to resume trickling out in the coming weeks—a critical development for mobility programs relying on timely work-authorization renewals.
For applicants and employers seeking guidance through this renewed adjudication landscape, VisaHQ provides up-to-date resources, personalized document checklists, and real-time status tracking to streamline U.S. immigration filings—visit https://www.visahq.com/united-states/ to see how their team can simplify the process while you focus on broader mobility strategy.
Business-immigration specialists welcome the restart but caution that USCIS now faces a daunting backlog. They urge employers to maintain documentary evidence of the court order in employee files, re-file any applications returned for technical reasons during the pause, and budget for potential overtime costs as foreign workers wait for EAD cards to print. The Department of Justice has already appealed, raising the prospect of renewed uncertainty if a higher court grants a stay. For now, however, asylum seekers and employment-based applicants can expect decisions to resume trickling out in the coming weeks—a critical development for mobility programs relying on timely work-authorization renewals.
