Green Card Update: Applicants Impacted by Trump Travel Ban Get Legal Win

Source: Newsweek

Published Apr 27, 2026 at 01:16 PM EDT updated Apr 27, 2026 at 06:37 PM EDT


A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration must unpause green card applications for dozens of immigrants originally from countries on the current travel ban list, potentially giving others affected by the ban a chance to get their cases heard.

The case, representing 83 immigrants already in the U.S., is among a handful brought by people affected by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy pausing applications from all immigrants from the 39 countries that have total travel 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."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/green-card-update-applicants-impacted-trump-travel-ban-legal-win-11883471