United States | State Department update on immigrant visa issuance pause, USCIS update on certain asylum application hold policies

The State Department updated its webpage on the immigrant visa issuance pause with the following statement:

“As of August 21, 2026, in accordance with the Court’s order in CLINIC et al. v. Rubio, et al., the January 2026 pause of immigrant visa issuance to nationals of 75 countries is no longer in effect.”

The federal court ruling held that “the Policy is contrary to law and was issued in excess of Secretary Rubio’s statutory authority.”

Following a separate federal court ruling, Red Eagle Law, L.C., et al., v. Joseph B. Edlow, 26-cv-04850-CRB (NDCA), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published an update stating, “USCIS is ordered to adjudicate applications in the normal course of USCIS’ process.”

The applications referenced pertain to certain foreign nationals subject to presidential proclamation 10949 with pending I-589 asylum or other USCIS benefit applications.

The government may appeal the abovementioned court decisions. BAL is monitoring the litigation and will provide updates. BAL clients are encouraged to work closely with their BAL teams to assess case-specific next steps.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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