Policy alert: Impact of INA 212(f) on USCIS’ Adjudication of Discretionary Benefits
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual addressing the President’s recent exercise of his authority under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) through Presidential Proclamation 10949, “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats” (PP 10949) and its impact on USCIS adjudications. On June 5, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued an order in Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, et al. v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al. , 26-cv-00132-JJM-PAS (D.RI.), vacating PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and PA 2025-26. The Court entered its final judgment on June 11, 2026. In this case, the plaintiffs are non-governmental organizations and labor unions who represent millions of individuals who filed immigration applications. USCIS strongly disagrees with the Court’s order but will follow its terms pending possible further judicial review. The Policy Memoranda and the Policy Alert were issued based on Presidential Proclamation 10949, Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats , June 4, 2025, and Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10998, Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the Security of the United States , December 16, 2025, and to address the lack of screening, vetting, and the threat to national security and public safety. With entry of final judgment this order is effective immediately, and pursuant to the court-ordered vacatur, applies agency-wide. Thus, the vacatur applies to PM 602-0192, PM 602-0194, and PA 2025-26, which should be treated as if they are not in effect. USCIS will issue updated instructions pending further litigation developments.
What this means
- This updates material the agency had already published. It changes existing guidance rather than creating a new requirement on its own. (classification: updated_information)
Derived from this event’s own recorded fields — not written by a model, and not an interpretation of anyone’s case.
Who is affected
The document does not name specific countries or visa categories in its scope language. Read the original to confirm whether it applies to a particular case.
Assembled from the source document, not from anyone's individual circumstances. Whether a change applies to a specific person depends on facts this platform does not have. This is data context, not legal advice.
- A policy alert is USCIS guidance to its own officers, not a regulation. It governs how USCIS adjudicates, and it can be revised or withdrawn without rulemaking.
- The updates page does not publish an effective date. Where the guidance states one, it is in the linked document — this event does not assert an effective date it cannot cite.
- Affected Policy Manual sections, as listed by USCIS: 1 USCIS-PM E.8; 7 USCIS-PM A.10; 9 USCIS-PM A.5; 10 USCIS-PM A.4 (General Policies and Procedures; Adjustment of Status; Waivers and Other Forms of Relief; Employment Authorization).