A Federal Judge in Ohio, has Ordered the Trump (R) Administration to Resume Processing certain Immigration Benefit Applications, delivering the Latest Legal Setback to a Broader Effort by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to Freeze or Delay Immigration Cases. U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley Granted a Preliminary Injunction 7/6/2026 in a Case brought by 25 Foreign Nationals who said their Applications for Work Authorization, Green Cards and other Immigration Benefits had been Stalled under USCIS and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Policies tied to Countries covered by Trump‘s (R) Travel Restrictions.
The Decision could Affect Immigrants Seeking Green Cards, Work Permits, and other Benefits, while Living in the U.S. and Adds to a Growing Series of Court Rulings Questioning whether the Administration has the Authority to Impose Broad Application Freezes. The Judge’s Order comes as Federal Courts continue to Scrutinize Immigration Policies Adopted under Trump’s Administration, Particularly those Tied to Heightened Vetting and National Security Concerns.
Marbley wrote that the Challenged Policies “indefinitely pause USCIS’s final adjudication of pending immigration benefit applications submitted by foreign nationals from certain countries,” while also Treating Nationality from those Countries as a “significant and negative factor” in the Adjudication Process. For Thousands of Immigrants with Ending Applications, the Ruling could Help move Long-Stalled Cases Forward.
USCIS Oversees a Wide Range of Immigration Benefits, including Adjustment of Status Applications for Green Cards, Employment Authorization Requests, Citizenship Applications and Asylum Claims. When those Applications are Frozen, Applicants can Face Months of Uncertainty Regarding their Legal Status, Employment, and Future in the U.S. The Plaintiffs in the Ohio Case include People from: Burma, Canada, Iran, Nigeria, Syria, Tanzania, and Venezuela. Marbley Noted that they include “a hospital pharmacist, a registered nurse and cancer researcher receiving federal funding, college graduates with pending job offers in the fields of science and engineering, a university professor, and young couples raising families.”
The Rruling Addresses not whether Applicants should Receive Immigration Benefits, but whether the Government can Halt Processing Altogether. The Judge emphasized that the Plaintiffs were Not Nationals Seeking Entry from Abroad. “These foreign nationals are not outside the country; they reside across the United States,” Marbley wrote. “Many of them have been in the United States for years, and already have received prior authorization to work here.”
Immigration Advocates have Argued that such Freezes leave Applicants in Legal Lmbo even when they have Followed Established Procedures and remain Eligible to Seek Benefits under Federal Law. The Judge drew a Sharp Distinction between Restrictions on Entry into the U.S. and the Processing of Applications from People already Living in the Country. “It is difficult to see how any asserted Government interest in public safety or national security … would have any bearing on foreign nationals who are lawfully present in the United States and are following the Government’s requirements to apply for immigration benefits,” Marbley wrote.
Marbley Rejected the Government’s attempt to Shield the Policies from Judicial Review, Writing that National Security Cannot be Used as a Blanket Answer to Legal Challenges. “National security cannot be ‘a talisman used to ward off inconvenient claims,'” He wrote, Quoting Legal Pprecedent. Marbley also Addressed Statements made by Trump and Vice President JD Vance (R), Writing that “both the President and the Vice President have publicly and repeatedly expressed outright hostility toward immigrants, both before and after the 2024 presidential election.”
He added: “Their ire appears focused on immigrants from countries in the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Asia.” The Order Requires the Agency to Resume Processing the Affected Cases. Importantly, the Ruling does Not mean Applicants Automatically receive Green Cards, Work Permits, or Other Immigration Benefits. Instead, USCIS must Evaluate Individual Applications and Issue Decisions under Existing Immigration Law rather than Leaving them Indefinitely On-Hold.
USCIS Freeze Challenged. The Ohio Ruling is Not the First Court Decision to Question USCIS Processing Freezes. Last month, U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island, Struck Down Four USCIS Policies, including Measures that Froze Decisions on Green Card, Work Permit, Ccitizenship, and Asylum Applications for Applicants from Countries Covered by the Administration’s Travel Restrictions.
Days later, USCIS said it “strongly disagrees with the court’s order” but would Comply, and Agency Officials later told the Court that Employees had been Instructed to Treat the Challenged Restrictions “as if they are no longer in effect” while further Litigation Proceeds. In the Ohio Case, Marbley Noted that USCIS issued a Policy Directing Personnel to Hold “all pending benefit applications” for Nationals listed in Trump’s Expanded Proclamation while a Comprehensive Review was Conducted.
That Court Concluded the Agency Lacked Authority to Indefinitely Suspend Adjudications Based on Applicants’ Nnational Origin and Found the Policies likely Violated Federal Administrative Law. Critics of the Freezes have Argued that the Aadministration Effectively Expanded Travel-Ban-Style Restrictions Beyond Visa Applicants Abroad and into the Lives of Immigrants already Residing in the U.S. Administratin Officials have Defended the Policies as Necessary to Protect National Security and Improve Screening Procedures.
Marbley wrote that the question before the court was not whether the policies were wise, but whether USCIS had legal authority to implement them. Impact on Green Cards. The most immediate consequence of the Ohio ruling could be for immigrants whose green card applications have remained pending for extended periods. Adjustment of status applications are often the final step for immigrants seeking lawful permanent resident status without leaving the country. Delays can affect employment opportunities, travel plans and family reunification efforts.
The decision may also affect applicants seeking employment authorization documents, naturalization and other USCIS-administered benefits. Marbley ordered USCIS and DHS to resume processing all pending Form I-485 applications, used by people applying to adjust status to permanent residence, and Form I-131 applications, used for certain travel documents, filed by the plaintiffs. He also ordered the government to adjudicate all pending Form I-765 employment authorization applications within 30 days.
While the ruling does not guarantee approvals, it removes a key obstacle that critics said prevented applicants from even receiving a decision. The judge found that the plaintiffs had shown they were being harmed by the freeze, writing: “Plaintiffs have sufficiently shown at this preliminary stage that so long as they are subjected to the ‘indefinite limbo’ caused by the challenged policies, they are harmed.”
For many immigrants, the distinction is crucial. A denial can be challenged through legal channels, while an indefinite freeze leaves applicants waiting without a clear timeline or resolution. Marbley also said the government had failed to explain why postponing decisions would address any security concern for people already inside the country. “Defendants fail to explain how a delay of a decision on pending immigration benefit applications for foreign nationals already within the United States could ameliorate any public safety or national security concern,” he wrote.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal adverse rulings involving immigration policies, and higher courts may ultimately decide whether USCIS had the legal authority to implement the challenged freezes. In Monday’s order, Marbley preliminarily enjoined USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin from applying the challenged policy alert and memoranda to any pending immigration benefit application filed by the plaintiffs.
The court also ordered the government to file a written report within 30 days setting out how USCIS and DHS have complied with the injunction. Any appeal also could address the judge’s conclusions regarding the motivations behind the policy and whether those considerations should factor into a court’s analysis.
In the meantime, the ruling represents another judicial setback for an administration that has faced repeated challenges to key elements of its immigration agenda. As lawsuits continue to work their way through federal courts, the fate of green card applicants, asylum seekers and others caught up in the disputed policies will remain closely watched by immigration advocates, attorneys and policymakers.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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