USCIS announced Friday that it will resume processing affected cases while additional legal proceedings continue. The decision is expected to provide relief to thousands of applicants, including Afghan refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) beneficiaries, although the Trump administration is expected to appeal the court’s decision to the Supreme Court.
KATHMANDU:- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will resume processing refugee and immigration applications following an order from a federal judge. It announced on Friday that it will resume processing refugee cases for citizens of 39 countries, including Afghanistan.
In a statement released Friday, USCIS said it disagrees with the ruling issued by the chief judge in Providence, Rhode Island, but will comply with the order “pending further judicial review.”
USCIS said the final federal court order was issued last Thursday and that the agency and its partners are currently complying with it.
The ruling comes after a federal court ruling issued last week by Chief Justice John McConnell in Rhode Island found that the Trump administration had unlawfully restricted access to immigration benefits for citizens of 39 countries, including Afghanistan.
The restrictions were imposed in late 2025 after a shooting incident involving an Afghan national, which prompted the administration to suspend or delay the processing of asylum applications, work permits, green cards and other immigration benefits for citizens of countries deemed “high risk.”
The judge ruled that the policy violated U.S. immigration and administrative laws and left thousands of applicants in prolonged legal limbo. Afghan nationals were the hardest hit, including former U.S. military and aid program employees whose immigration cases were frozen despite extensive security checks.
USCIS announced Friday that it will resume processing affected cases while additional legal proceedings continue. The decision is expected to provide relief to thousands of applicants, including Afghan refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) beneficiaries, although the Trump administration is expected to appeal the court’s decision to the Supreme Court.
The court’s decision is expected to have significant implications for thousands of immigrants and refugees whose applications have been delayed or suspended under these policies. Resuming case processing, especially for Afghan applicants, SIV holders, and those seeking humanitarian protection, could provide new hope for legal pathways to safety and permanent status in the United States, although the outcome of further legal challenges remains uncertain.
Overall, the Trump administration’s immigration policies have been characterized by a strict and security-focused approach, with an emphasis on tightening vetting processes, limiting refugee admissions, and restricting entry from countries considered high-risk.
These measures were often justified on the grounds of national security and border control, and were implemented through a series of executive actions and policy directives that significantly reshaped the U.S. immigration system. As a result, many immigration processes became slower and more restrictive, creating prolonged uncertainty for refugees, asylum seekers, and applicants from conflict-affected areas, including Afghanistan.
