If your case has sat untouched for months and you are from Cuba, Venezuela, or another country named in the recent presidential proclamations, this affects you directly: a federal court has ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to stop applying the memos that froze those cases and to adjudicate them in the normal course.
At Campos Law Firm, we closely monitor developments in U.S. immigration policy to protect our clients’ rights and future. Below is what the court ordered, who it covers, and what to do now.
¿Qué está pasando?
On 24 de agosto de 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order in Red Eagle Law, L.C., et al. v. Edlow (No. 26-cv-04850, before Judge Charles R. Breyer). The court certified a class of applicants and granted a preliminary injunction halting the hold policy.
The memoranda at issue are PM 602-0192, dated December 2, 2025, and PM 602-0194, dated January 1, 2026. Both directed USCIS to hold — without deciding — benefit applications filed by people connected to countries listed in Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998.
On August 28, 2026, USCIS published an alert confirming the order. The agency says it strongly disagrees with the decision but will comply while judicial review continues.
This is not the first time these policies have been struck down: in June 2026, a federal court in Rhode Island had already vacated the same memoranda in a separate case. That history is why the litigation is worth following rather than treating as settled.
Who is in the class?
Based on the available information, the certified class covers people who meet two conditions at once:
- Nationality or a connection to one of the 39 countries listed in Presidential Proclamations 10949 and 10998 — among them Cuba, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and Nigeria — plus the Palestinian Authority.
- A pending benefit application subject to those holds, including asylum applications (Form I-589) and other benefits stalled by the memoranda.
The holds had reached a broad range of filings — employment petitions, changes of status, and work authorization requests among them — and applied to people born in those countries or traveling on their documents, regardless of when they entered the United States.
One important nuance: being within the class definition is not the same as having a decision. The order requires your case to go back in line and be adjudicated normally; it does not require approval.
Will my case be decided right away?
Not necessarily, and this is the part worth understanding.
A preliminary injunction is a provisional ruling issued while the case moves forward. The government can appeal it, and USCIS has already said it disagrees. The order also sets no deadline for a decision on your particular application — what it does is remove the policy obstacle that prevented one.
It does not change the substantive requirements either. If your asylum, residency, or work permit case was frozen by the hold, it is now evaluated again under the same legal standards as always. The outcome can be favorable or unfavorable.
And one clarification that prevents surprises: resuming adjudication means USCIS can issue approvals, but also Requests for Evidence (RFEs), Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs), or denials. A thin file that sat dormant for months can wake up with a document request and a short deadline.
¿Qué puedes hacer ahora?
- Check your case status in your USCIS online account and save a dated screenshot of every update.
- Confirm your address is current with USCIS (Form AR-11 and the change in your online account). If an RFE goes to an old address, the deadline still runs.
- Have your evidence ready: identity documents, proof of entry, translated home-country documents, and evidence supporting your asylum case or the benefit you requested.
- Renew what is expiring on time: work permits and travel documents follow their own rules and deadlines, independent of this order.
- Do not pay to “join” the lawsuit or to speed up your case. The class has already been certified by the court; be wary of anyone charging to include you.
- Habla con un abogado especializado en inmigración to confirm whether your application falls within the order and what concrete steps your file needs.
Protect Your Case with Campos Law Firm
After months of waiting, a court order that reactivates files is good news — and also a delicate moment, because reactivated cases tend to move fast and on short deadlines. Being prepared is the difference between an approval and a denial for missing documents.
At Campos Law Firm, we represent asylum seekers, residency applicants, and work permit applicants, and we track stalled filings. We do not make unrealistic promises. We provide serious legal representation backed by preparation and integrity.
Do not leave your immigration status to chance. Call us today at +1 (844) 922-6767 para concertar una consulta gratuita y confidencial en inglés o en español. Bufete de Abogados Campos: soluciones jurídicas en todas las áreas del derecho.
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