USCIS Pauses Adjudication on Thousands of Cases

2025 is ending on a peculiar note, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services deciding that it no longer should be doing its job, and instead placing a pause on a significant number of immigration applications for an indefinite period of time.

The memo, PM-602-0192, pauses adjudication of a multitude of benefit applications filed by individuals connected to countries designated as “high-risk” under Presidential Proclamation 10949 (the much-discussed travel ban). Impacted benefits include adjustment of status applications, green card renewals or replacements, advance parole and travel documents, and even certain naturalization-related filings.

The policy memorandum also places an immediate hold on all pending asylum applications regardless of the applicant’s nationality. This means USCIS will not approve, deny, or complete interviews for any affirmative asylum cases until further notice, even if a case was close to completion. What is already a historically large, and nearly insurmountable backlog of asylum applications will now grow increasingly larger.

The memo also directs USCIS to re-review previously approved immigration benefits for individuals from those high-risk countries who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021. These re-reviews may include mandatory interviews or re-interviews, and officers are not permitted to waive interviews.

USCIS states that the purpose of this policy is to address heightened national security and identity-verification concerns by allowing additional vetting before immigration benefits are finalized. As a result, applicants across the board should expect longer processing times, possible new interview notices, and additional requests for evidence. For asylum seekers, this means indefinite delays in interview scheduling and case decisions absent litigation forcing the issue. For other applicants, the pause may affect work authorization renewals, travel plans, and long-term immigration strategy.

USCIS has indicated that further operational guidance is expected within approximately 90 days, but the holds will remain in place until formally lifted. For affected applicants, careful case monitoring and timely responses to any USCIS notices are critical while this policy remains in effect.  In the meantime, we are preparing a large group lawsuit to challenge this ban.  If you’d like more information, or would like to explore an individual case, please contact our office.