United States Court Decisions

Current rules

Policy Memoranda PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and Policy Alert PA 2025-26 are vacated and should be treated as if they are not in effect.

Overview

This proposed rule would implement a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, authorising Immigration Judges to impose civil money penalties for contempt of their authority. The rule defines the scope of contempt authority, outlines procedures for findings and penalties, establishes an appellate process, and makes conforming changes to practitioner discipline.

What changed in the latest version

This court order is important because it immediately removes three specific policy rules from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These rules are PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and PA 2025-26. These policies were first based on presidential proclamations. These proclamations limited the entry of foreign nationals (people who are not citizens of the United States) because of national security concerns. Now, these policies are invalid for all of USCIS. This cancellation helps people who were affected by these limits. These are the people the non-governmental organisations and labour unions represented. USCIS will give more instructions later. This means the situation might still change if there are more court cases.

Explained simply

Imagine the government had some special rules (called 'policies') about who could come into the country, especially if they thought someone might be a security risk. A court has now told the government that these specific rules can't be used anymore. So, those rules are now 'on hold' or cancelled, and everyone should act as if they never existed. The government isn't happy about it but has to follow the court's decision for now, and they might try to fight it later.

Frequently asked

Version history

1. v4Effective 11 Jun 2026EffectiveCritical impact
   Court Order Vacates Presidential Proclamation-Based Policies

   Starting 11 June 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island cancelled Policy Memoranda PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and Policy Alert PA 2025-26. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued these policies. They were based on Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998. These policies aimed to limit the entry of foreign nationals (people who are not citizens of the United States). The court's order means that USCIS must now treat these policies as if they are not in effect across the agency. This decision came from the case called 'Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, et al. v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al.'. USCIS does not agree with the order, but it will follow its terms.

2. v3Effective 21 Jul 2026Court DecisionCritical impact
   Court Issues Administrative Stay of Certain USCIS Policies Related to H.R. 1

   A U.S. District Court has temporarily stopped specific U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policies. These policies came from H.R. 1, the Reconciliation Act of 2025. This stop means USCIS cannot apply H.R. 1 rules to work permit expiration dates for people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). It also stops USCIS from rejecting asylum requests or ending work permits just because someone did not pay the yearly asylum fee. USCIS cannot start removal procedures (actions to make a person leave the country) just for not paying this fee. However, USCIS can still ask for and collect the yearly asylum fee.

3. v2Issued 30 Jul 2026ProposalMedium impact
   Proposed Civil Money Penalty for Actions in Contempt of an Immigration Judge's Proper Exercise of Authority

   This proposed rule would put into practice a part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA is the main law for immigration in the United States. This part allows Immigration Judges to order people to pay civil money penalties if they show contempt for the judge's authority. The rule explains what counts as contempt. It sets out steps for finding contempt and for ordering penalties. It also creates a way to appeal these decisions. Finally, it makes matching changes to rules about disciplining immigration lawyers and representatives.

Timeline

1. Announced

   23 Jul 2026

   On 21 July 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an administrative stay impacting certain USCIS policies derived from H.R. 1, the Reconciliation Act of 2025. This order temporarily prevents the application of H.R. 1 to TPS-based EAD expiration dates and stops specific adverse actions (application rejection, work authorisation termination, removal proceedings) rela

2. Takes effect

   21 Jul 2026

   The administrative stay dictates that: any TPS-based Employment Authorization Document (EAD) previously extended shall maintain its prior expiration date, asylum applications will not be rejected solely for failure to pay the annual asylum fee (AAF), work authorisation will not be terminated solely due to AAF non-payment, and removal procedures will not be initiated based solely on AAF non-payment

3. Announced

   12 Jun 2026

   On 5 June 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued an order vacating USCIS Policy Memoranda PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and Policy Alert PA 2025-26. This judgment, finalised on 11 June 2026, means these policies, which stemmed from Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998 concerning national security threats, are now deemed ineffective agency-wide. USCIS will comply

4. Takes effect

   11 Jun 2026

   Policy Memoranda PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and Policy Alert PA 2025-26 are vacated and should be treated as if they are not in effect.