In a decision with potentially wider ramifications, U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley on 7 July granted a preliminary injunction preventing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from applying controversial internal memos that had frozen adjudication of 25 employment- and family-based petitions. The memos, issued late 2025, ordered officers to pause or re-review benefits for nationals of certain countries perceived as higher-risk. The plaintiffs—professionals and immediate relatives from Burma, Canada, Iran, Nigeria, Syria, Tanzania and Venezuela—argued the holds exceeded USCIS’s statutory authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. Judge Marbley agreed, writing that “national security cannot operate as a talisman against judicial review.” While the injunction is limited to the named applicants, it adds to a patchwork of district-court orders challenging the same policy; a Rhode Island court in June vacated the memos nationwide. Practically, the ruling means USCIS must resume processing the 25 applications, potentially issuing work authorisations and green cards within normal time frames.
In this fluid environment, individuals and employers may benefit from third-party guidance on documentation and timing. VisaHQ, an established visa and passport expediting platform, can monitor agency changes, flag alternative processing routes, and help applicants assemble error-free filings; its U.S. resource hub also provides up-to-date checklists and live support for employment and family-based petitions, reducing the chance that an application gets caught in discretionary holds.
For employers, it offers a template for narrowly tailored litigation when adjudications stall without formal requests for evidence. Immigration counsel expect the government to seek an emergency stay, but note that appellate courts may soon be forced to resolve conflicting remedies. The litigation also highlights the growing use of unpublished policy documents that materially affect processing but carry no formal notice-and-comment process. Companies should document unusual delays, especially when multiple employees from the same country are affected, and be prepared to press for status or consider mandamus actions. If higher courts confirm that nationality-based holds are unlawful without explicit rulemaking, USCIS may need to issue public guidance—or withdraw the memos entirely—restoring normal workflow for thousands of pending cases.
In this fluid environment, individuals and employers may benefit from third-party guidance on documentation and timing. VisaHQ, an established visa and passport expediting platform, can monitor agency changes, flag alternative processing routes, and help applicants assemble error-free filings; its U.S. resource hub also provides up-to-date checklists and live support for employment and family-based petitions, reducing the chance that an application gets caught in discretionary holds.
For employers, it offers a template for narrowly tailored litigation when adjudications stall without formal requests for evidence. Immigration counsel expect the government to seek an emergency stay, but note that appellate courts may soon be forced to resolve conflicting remedies. The litigation also highlights the growing use of unpublished policy documents that materially affect processing but carry no formal notice-and-comment process. Companies should document unusual delays, especially when multiple employees from the same country are affected, and be prepared to press for status or consider mandamus actions. If higher courts confirm that nationality-based holds are unlawful without explicit rulemaking, USCIS may need to issue public guidance—or withdraw the memos entirely—restoring normal workflow for thousands of pending cases.
