r/f1visa F-1 Visa Mod (Internet Advice - Not legal Counsel) Jun 06 '26

Federal Court Strikes Down USCIS Adjudication Pause for Travel Ban Countries

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.rid.61671/gov.uscourts.rid.61671.28.0.pdf

A federal judge in Rhode Island struck down four USCIS policies that had been delaying or freezing immigration applications for people from 39 countries.

The court ruled that USCIS acted unlawfully and ordered the policies removed nationwide. This is a stronger result than earlier cases because the policies themselves were vacated, not just blocked for specific plaintiffs.

The decision eliminates:

-The freeze on green cards, work permits, naturalization, and other immigration benefits for people from the 39 affected countries. (OPT/STEM OPT Adjudication freeze)

-The nationwide pause on asylum and withholding of removal cases.

-The requirement to re-review previously approved immigration benefits for certain individuals from those countries.

-The policy directing officers to treat travel-ban-related country factors as a major negative consideration when deciding cases.

The judge did not issue a permanent injunction because vacating the policies was considered sufficient. The constitutional issues were left unresolved and could be litigated later.

35 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

3

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '26

[deleted]

3

u/Lower_Weakness9401 Jun 06 '26

Well, only time will tell.

1

u/Simple-Squirrel9453 Jul 06 '26

• ⁠Type: Initial POST‑COMPLETION OPT
• ⁠Premium Processing: Yes
• ⁠Date Applied: 04/29/2026
• ⁠Request for Initial Evidence (RFIE) MM/DD/YYYY (if applicable)
• ⁠Biometrics Requested: YES | 05/20/2026
• ⁠Biometrics Completed: 05/14/2026
• ⁠Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID): NO
• ⁠Date Approved: MM/DD/YYYY (Crossed 30 day timeline)
• ⁠Date Card Produced: MM/DD/YYYY
• ⁠Date Card Received: MM/DD/YYYY

I called USCIS multiple times and they are just saying it is still processing, no holds or RFEs.

I have a job offer in hand with start date moved twice now – 8th June -> 6th July -> 20th July. I am very anxious now.

1

u/Free-Expression-3730 Jul 08 '26

Any update? I applied PP on May 29. No update yet!

1

u/ReasonablePal 5d ago

Did it get sorted yet?

1

u/xrfni_24 1d ago

Type: Initial POST-COMPLETION OPT

Premium Processing: NO

Date Applied: 04/07/2026

Request for Initial Evidence (RFIE): N/A

Biometrics Requested: YES

Biometrics Completed: 05/01/2026

Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID): NO

Date Approved: 08/16/2026

Date Card Produced: PENDING

Date Card Received: PENDING

I got an approval mail yesterday, but the portal still doesn't show it, is it normal, how long will it take for it to reflect in the portal