Facing a 24-hour compliance deadline from U.S. District Judge John McConnell, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services late on June 13 told employees to resume adjudicating more than one million stalled asylum, adjustment-of-status and naturalization cases. The halt, imposed in November 2025, had frozen petitions from nationals of 39 countries covered by the expanded travel ban as well as all affirmative asylum filings. The Rhode Island court ruled the policies unlawful on June 5, but the agency initially argued the order was “preliminary” and continued the freeze. After the judge issued a sharply worded follow-up—“There is no excuse this time”—USCIS reversed course while simultaneously appealing to the First Circuit. Practically, the restart means long-delayed employment authorization documents (EADs) and green-card decisions can now move forward, easing workforce planning headaches for U.S. employers who have been unable to confirm start dates for affected hires.
![USCIS pledges to restart asylum and other immigration applications after federal court rebuke]()
Meanwhile, employers and applicants who need up-to-date guidance on travel documents and visa requirements can leverage VisaHQ’s U.S. portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/). The platform delivers personalized checklists, deadline reminders and concierge-level support that align seamlessly with USCIS workflows—particularly helpful as officers work through the newly reactivated backlogs.
Immigration lawyers advise companies to monitor case-status portals daily and be ready to respond quickly to Requests for Evidence that may arrive in bulk as officers clear backlogs. USCIS warned that full normalization could take weeks as it re-trains adjudicators and re-queues files. Nevertheless, the decision removes immediate legal uncertainty for multinational firms relying on asylum-based work authorization and family-based green-cards for key staff.
Meanwhile, employers and applicants who need up-to-date guidance on travel documents and visa requirements can leverage VisaHQ’s U.S. portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/). The platform delivers personalized checklists, deadline reminders and concierge-level support that align seamlessly with USCIS workflows—particularly helpful as officers work through the newly reactivated backlogs.
Immigration lawyers advise companies to monitor case-status portals daily and be ready to respond quickly to Requests for Evidence that may arrive in bulk as officers clear backlogs. USCIS warned that full normalization could take weeks as it re-trains adjudicators and re-queues files. Nevertheless, the decision removes immediate legal uncertainty for multinational firms relying on asylum-based work authorization and family-based green-cards for key staff.
