United States | New ‘hold and review’ policy memo expands scope of country-based restrictions for certain immigration benefit requests

On Jan. 1, 2026, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a new “hold and review” policy memorandum (PM-602-0194), effective immediately, expanding the scope of a prior memorandum (PM-602-0192) by introducing additional country-based restrictions and adding a detailed list of exceptions.

Key Points:

• On Dec. 2, 2025, USCIS issued a “hold and review” policy memorandum directing USCIS personnel to place holds on certain asylum applications and benefit requests and conduct a “comprehensive re-review” of benefit requests for certain foreign nationals from 19 identified “high-risk” countries.
• The new policy memorandum places adjudicative holds on pending benefit requests filed by or for foreign nationals who are nationals, citizens or birth country nationals of the expanded list of 39 “high-risk” countries identified in presidential proclamation 10998 (PP 10998), issued on Dec. 16, 2025.
• The updated directives for USCIS personnel in the Jan. 1, 2026, policy memorandum include more procedural detail and implementation structure that includes but is not limited to:
  • Establishing a hold on all pending USCIS benefit applications for foreign nationals covered under PP 10998, regardless of the type of benefit sought, unless an exception applies.
  • Stating that USCIS may continue to process affected benefit requests but will not issue final decisions while the hold is in place.
  • Clarifying that immigrant visa applicants with qualifying family relationships are no longer automatically exempt from review or restrictions.
  • Extending the mandatory re-review of previously approved benefit requests for individuals who entered the U.S. on or after Jan. 20, 2021, to additional “high-risk” countries and allowing USCIS to retroactively review cases beyond this timeframe when appropriate.
• The updated memorandum also establishes an explicit list of exceptions to the adjudication hold that include but are not limited to:
  • Form I‑90
  • Form N‑565
  • Form N‑600 (except Yemen and Somalia)
  • Certain Forms I-765 under the (c)(8), limited (c)(11) and limited (c)(14) categories
  • Form I-910, Civil Surgeon designation applications
  • Professional athletes and support staff for certain international events
  • Benefit requests that are in the national interest
  • Cases prioritized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
  • Automatic terminations of certain benefits following green card/lawful permanent resident approval
• According to the updated policy, “Within 90 days of this memorandum issuance, and in consultation with OP&S and the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, USCIS will prioritize a list for review, interview and re-interview and issue operational guidance.”

Additional Information: BAL will continue to monitor related policy developments and provide updates.

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

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