Green Card Replace: Candidates Impacted by Trump Journey Ban Get Authorized Win

A federal choose has dominated that the Trump administration should unpause inexperienced card purposes for dozens of immigrants initially from nations on the present journey ban record, doubtlessly giving others affected by the ban an opportunity to get their circumstances heard.

The case, representing 83 immigrants already within the U.S., is amongst a handful introduced by folks affected by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) coverage pausing purposes from all immigrants from the 39 nations which have complete journey bans or restrictions on new visas issued by the State Department.

“USCIS does not have discretion to decide not to adjudicate at all,” Maryland District Judge George L. Russell III wrote, ordering the agency to continue working on the applications.

A campaign tracking the pause, called Project Press Unpause, estimates USCIS had collected over $1 billion in fees from over 2 million applications it was not processing.

“This sends a clear message that this policy is arbitrary and capricious. Most of us have been in the country for 5+ years with no issues with the law, dedicated tax payers and were even granted national interest waivers because of the work that we do,” a Project Press Unpause spokesperson, who gave their name as Lavida, told Newsweek.

“We are legal immigrants (the kind of immigrants this administration claims to only want), have contributed positively to the US economy but are now placed under an indefinite hold because of our country of birth – something we cannot control.”

Why the Ruling Matters

Pauses in immigration applications are not a new phenomenon, with similar processing delays seen during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 through 2021, leaving thousands of immigrants and potential immigrants waiting. Lawsuits followed then, and the Trump and Biden administrations were also forced to restart cases.

The current travel ban applies to immigrants and visitors from 39 countries, but it was framed as a way to prevent new arrivals over security concerns. U.S. policy is that the State Department decides on those applications, rather than DHS, and this left immigrants in the country already in limbo, concerned that if they left, they would not be able to return.

Why Did USCIS Pause Green Card Applications?

The presidential proclamations at issue—the original and then expanded travel bans—were issued under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and were framed as entry restrictions—that is, limits on who may enter the United States from designated “Countries of Identified Concern.”

USCIS took this as applying to the agency, issuing policy memos which imposed indefinite holds on adjudicating green card applications solely based on where applicants were born—i.e., the affected 39 countries.

In a 39-page ruling issued Friday and published Monday, Russell found that policy amounted to an unlawful, categorical and indefinite pause on green card applications.

Russell underscored this in his ruling, writing that many plaintiffs, “have already been admitted to the United States, some for years or over a decade,” and had maintained lawful status.

Press Unpause emphasized this, telling Newsweek that many affected immigrants “have contributed considerably to scientific and medical analysis that serves the pursuits of the U.S. and its residents.”

What Did the Judge Rule?

The judge rejected the government’s argument that courts lack authority to review the freeze, explaining that while immigration officials have discretion in how they decide cases, they do not have the power to indefinitely refuse to decide them. Unlike routine delays caused by visa backlogs, the court said USCIS has a legal obligation to process applications within a reasonable time.

The judge ordered USCIS to restart work on the plaintiffs’ green card applications but declined to require decisions within 30 days, noting that the cases were at very different stages and some would reasonably take longer to complete.

The ruling effectively rolls back the policy to the way things worked before the freeze, allowing applications to proceed normally. However, it does not guarantee that any applicant will be approved or denied—it only requires that USCIS make a decision.

Reacting to the news Monday, a USCIS spokesperson told Newsweek,” “USCIS has paused all adjudications for aliens from high-risk countries while USCIS works to ensure that all aliens from these countries are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. The pause will allow for a comprehensive examination of all pending benefit requests for aliens from the designated high-risk countries. The safety of the American people always come first.”

Trump Admin Has Cut Green Card Approvals

Recent evaluation by libertarian suppose tank Cato Institute discovered that approvals for lawful everlasting residence have fallen throughout most classes over the previous 12 months, excluding employment-based visas, with total inexperienced card grants dropping by roughly half from earlier ranges below President Donald Trump.

Family-based inexperienced card approvals fell 54 % between July 2025 and January 2026, whereas complete approvals in January 2026 had been 22 % decrease than in January 2025, in response to the evaluation. Family-sponsored inexperienced card approvals had been 30,699 in January 2025 when Trump returned to workplace, rose to 52,181 in July 2025 after Joseph Edlow was confirmed as head of USCIS, after which plummeted to 23,847 in January 2026, the report stated.

The report additionally discovered that some humanitarian classes noticed steep reductions, together with refugee admissions and Cuban adjustment circumstances. During the identical interval, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of Cuban parolees rose 463 %, coinciding with what the evaluation described as a close to shutdown in Cuban inexperienced card approvals.

The cuts converse to a wider effort by DHS to extra closely scrutinize purposes and be extra selective on the subject of approvals, having accused the Biden administration of being too lax.

Who Is Impacted By The Ruling?

For immigrants who weren’t plaintiffs, USCIS can technically proceed making use of its maintain for now.

The injunction doesn’t power the company to carry the freeze throughout the board or instantly restart all stalled inexperienced‑card purposes, however there are a handful of comparable circumstances additionally difficult the pause. These may benefit from Russell’s ruling, as a result of he stated that an indefinite and categorical pause was illegal.