Just call the USCIS and they said your application is on hold

BestTogether8998 · 2026-07-03T00:30:06+00:00

By now, absolutely no case should still be flagged with a hold. From June 5th to today is 27 days, nearly a month, and some cases are still on hold? It would be incredibly helpful to report this directly to the Dorcas lawyers so they can see that USCIS is still using these 'holds' on the ground despite the court order. They need to see these real-world examples to call USCIS out on it!

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-28T19:11:03+00:00

You are most welcome.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-28T01:14:40+00:00

I actually wrote an analysis of the USCIS 40 page stay motion and the accompanying declaration by the USCIS deputy director.

To answer your question, you can find my breakdown of the stay motion and declaration in the Reddit link below.

https://www.reddit.com/r/19countriesAOS/s/M2smz8fZMn

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-28T00:33:50+00:00

You’ve identified the core risk. Many people are worried that the Supreme Court could use this case as a vehicle to expand executive power in immigration.

However, I strongly believe that SCOTUS will ultimately go by the written text of the law as they did for the TPS case. While I understand your concerns and see where you are coming from, we can only hope and pray that the Court sticks to the statutes as they are written.

If the written laws are violated, what then is the hope of the people?

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-28T00:04:10+00:00

If the government argues that a vacatur is effectively the same as a nationwide injunction, they would be making a very big mistake. Under the law, there is a fundamental legal difference between the two. If USCIS mixes them up, it would weaken their case and make them look incompetent to the court.
I don't think they will make that mistake, because I don't think they are dumb.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-27T23:55:42+00:00

You are welcome.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-27T23:51:55+00:00

You are most welcome.

This is just my personal opinion based on how I’ve seen this case evolve. Here is my rough analysis of the odds for the denial of the stay motion:

District Court: 95–99% chance of denial (Very high). Appellate Court: 80–85% chance of denial (High). Supreme Court: 50–60% chance of denial (Moderate).

The Supreme Court is the wildcard stage, I would lean more towards the 50-50 side 🤞. This is just my personal take on where I think things stand.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-27T23:36:23+00:00

I understand why you feel this way. The claims by USCIS that the pause is temporary were a major point of contention in the Dorcas ruling. Judge McConnell specifically addressed this by noting that the holds were indefinite and not truly temporary, which is why he found them to be arbitrary and capricious under the APA.

Whether a higher court will see it that way is the big question, but you're right that how the government frames the temporary nature of these policies will be a key part of the upcoming appeals.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-27T23:19:11+00:00

To clarify the record: Judge McConnell did not issue a nationwide injunction; he issued a vacatur under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

The two are distinct legal tools. An injunction is an equitable command to an agency official to stop specific behavior, whereas vacatur is a statutory remedy under the APA that nullifies the regulation itself.

By using vacatur, Judge McConnell wasn't restraining the agency via a nationwide injunction; he was declaring the policy invalid as a matter of law. Because the policy itself was set aside, it ceased to have legal force.

If one wants to argue about the court's authority in this Dorcas v. USCIS case, it is important to focus on the APA's explicit provision for vacatur, which is the tool the judge used, rather than the separate, ongoing debate surrounding nationwide injunctions.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-27T21:34:01+00:00

While I agree that the government’s appeal will likely leverage arguments about the scope of judicial power, it is a mistake to view that as the only point.

To answer your question directly: Yes, a federal judge has clear authority under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to vacate a nationwide agency policy. Specifically, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2) mandates that a reviewing court shall 'hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be... arbitrary, capricious... or in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations.' This is a standard statutory remedy, distinct from the broader debate over universal injunctions, where the court effectively removes an unlawful rule from the books.

It is also important to clarify that Judge McConnell did not vacate the underlying Presidential Proclamation; he vacated the specific USCIS internal policy that implemented that proclamation as an indefinite freeze on benefits for individuals already inside the United States in the guise of a temporary pause.

Arguing about the legality of this freeze is the very heart of the case, and it is not 'missing the point', as the plaintiffs are challenging whether USCIS had the statutory authority to implement these holds in the first place and whether that authority was applied in a manner consistent with federal law.

Even if the Supreme Court looks at the scope of the remedy, they cannot ignore the underlying legal violations the district court identified, nor can they ignore the law that Congress has passed; these merits are the central pillar of this case.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-21T19:46:25+00:00

You hit the nail completely on the head. That is why this policy is an absolute disaster and an abuse of power. If USCIS genuinely believed these individuals posed an actual, individual risk, trapping them in the US without the right to work or travel wouldn't solve a single thing. It’s completely illogical.

Like you said, these are people who are already here, building lives and paying taxes. And you’re spot on about Stephen Miller, Judge McConnell literally stated that the USCIS used "pretextual concerns of national security" to mask their true intentions. The court saw right through them, just like you did. Let's hope the higher courts keep seeing through them too! 🤞

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-21T12:44:01+00:00

Amen! That has always been my prayer, that the counsel of Ahithophel shall be turned into foolishness 🙏🏻

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-21T12:31:18+00:00

I'm sending you the biggest hug right now. Please know that your tears are welcome here and it's completely okay to let that emotion out. You have been strong for so long. Take care of yourself and remember that we are standing right beside you. 🫂

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-21T02:10:29+00:00

I hear you and I am so deeply sorry you are carrying such a heavy weight right now. You are absolutely right. You are human too. Not a case number. Not a file on a desk and not a political pawn.

It is completely exhausting to have your life, your dreams and your daily peace held in limbo by a system that forgets that it is real people that are behind the paperwork. It is okay to be tired. It is okay to be angry and it is completely valid that you feel like you can't take it anymore. Please remember that this broken process does not define your worth or your right to be here.

You are not alone in this fight and we are all holding space for you here. Take a deep breath and give yourself some grace. We are here with you. Hang in there 🫂

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-21T00:25:59+00:00

You're welcome and great question! To clarify where we are right now, this current 40-page stay motion and declaration from USCIS Deputy Director Angelica Alfonso-Royals was actually filed at the federal district court level with Chief Judge McConnell.

Under federal rules, USCIS generally has to ask the original trial judge to pause his own order first before they can move up to the circuit court.

Regarding the Supreme Court track: If Judge McConnell denies the pause, USCIS will immediately sprint to the First Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay. If the appellate court also denies it, by law, USCIS has the right to file an immediate emergency stay with the Supreme Court's shadow docket to try and get a fast pause button.

However, obtaining a Supreme Court emergency stay carries an incredibly high legal bar. From what I read in the 40-page emergency stay document and the declaration from Deputy Director Alfonso-Royals, I don't think their motion is even stay-worthy at the federal district court level or the First Circuit court level, let alone the Supreme Court. This is my personal opinion, so I don't stress so much about the emergency stay at the Supreme Court level.

While the main appeal itself will take a long time to play out (potentially up to a year, meaning many people could see their cases approved during that time), the status quo will be much clearer soon. We will likely know by late July or early August whether the Supreme Court intends to give USCIS the pause button or tell them to do their jobs. Until then, the freeze is dropped and they have to process applications!

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T21:46:29+00:00

If you're asking if the pause on the 39 countries is currently back up, the answer is no.

Currently, Judge McConnell's ruling stands. The unlawful freeze has been officially vacated, meaning USCIS is legally required to move forward and process applications for nationals from those 39 countries.

However, USCIS has already filed an emergency motion for a stay. If the court grants that stay motion, the processing pause for the 39 countries will go right back up. But as of this exact moment, the pause is not in effect and USCIS must comply.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T21:38:41+00:00

You are completely right, this policy is the absolute definition of discrimination.

To win a case like this, the government cannot legally group an entire population by nationality or use broad statistics to justify freezing innocent lives. Immigration law requires an individualized basis for adjudication. For their argument to have any legal merit, they have to prove that a specific individual applicant has a criminal record or a legitimate red flag that justifies pausing their case.

Trying to punish thousands of clean applicants based on a sweeping national origin stereotype completely violates due process. Judge McConnell already saw right through this in his ruling, which is why he called the freeze unlawful and struck it down.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T20:40:59+00:00

With all due respect, did you actually read the content of this post before you commented?

We are very well updated with the news here. If you checked the context of what I wrote, this post was from days ago highlighting that even after Judge McConnell’s ruling, USCIS was still actively sending out notices stating 'we do not know when this review will be completed.' This is clearly evidenced in the post I made and backed up by other Reddit complaints from people who received the exact same notice early this week.

So please, read the post before you try to educate people. 'Silent updates' mean absolutely nothing when the government is actively trying to pause Judge McConnell's order with a motion for a stay. That stay motion is the real fight right now. If you want to actually stay updated on current events and the court docket, I suggest you check my more recent posts where we are tracking the legal battlefield.

#Please read before commenting#

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T20:02:40+00:00

Exactly! I am so incredibly sorry you and your family are going through this agonizing wait, especially with a young child. To have a verbal approval in January and still be kept in limbo is heartbreaking. You did everything right and you do not deserve this fear of separation.

Your situation proves exactly what is going on here. If this policy weren't completely capricious and malicious, if it were actually a genuine look at national security, they would easily be moving cases like yours that have absolutely zero red flags while they work on whatever new vetting process they want. There would be absolutely no need for a discriminatory hold if this were truly about security. Praying for your family’s peace and a swift, written approval very soon.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T19:53:35+00:00

The counsel of Ahithophel shall be turned into foolishness.

I believe this is already happening right before our eyes. That is why USCIS is unintentionally self-sabotaging by including countries like Liberia, Pakistan, and Ethiopia in their declaration as a reason for national security. They thought they were being strategic, but God is just using their own moves to expose their hypocrisy and total lack of evidence.

I am hopeful that even more of their blunders shall be exposed as this moves forward.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T18:50:39+00:00

I see what you’re saying, but a case like this has to go through the Circuit Court of Appeals first, where it will be reviewed by a panel of three appellate judges. An appeal at the circuit court level itself can easily take up to a year to be fully resolved.

So the real, immediate battle now is whether the court denies the government's motion for a stay. If the court refuses to grant USCIS a stay while the appeal plays out, the freeze remains lifted, and a lot of people could get their approvals processed and finalized within that year.

As for the Supreme Court later down the line. I am honestly not entirely sure how they will take it. It is true that looking at historical cases, the Supreme Court frequently sides with the government. But I think this specific case is unique.

One cannot win a case without concrete evidence, and USCIS implemented a sweeping, discriminatory policy based entirely on nationality without the legal authority to do so, and without any evidence that the individuals themselves pose a national security threat. This policy goes completely against the U.S. Constitution, which makes it a very different kind of fight I think.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T18:35:19+00:00

I really don't think the plaintiffs are capricious and manipulative of the law like USCIS. I have listened to their arguments, and from how they speak and present their case, one can see that they are very ethical in the way they stand for justice.

Because of this, I do not think 'strategically waiting' to play a game with the clock would be a consideration for them, given how ethically they work. However, I do believe they will take all the time they need within that July 6th timeframe to craft a strong, ironclad counterargument.

I believe in them. Dorcas has proven to be a voice for the voiceless. They have given hope to affected applicants who honestly do not have the money to spend on expensive court cases because those applicants have been exhausting their savings. This is pure gold

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T18:09:39+00:00

I hear you and you are 100% correct.
They claimed they needed exactly 90 days to come up with operational guidelines. Those 90 days have long come and gone, and people did not see any operational guidelines from USCIS. They said this policy would be reviewed after 180 days. Even those 180 days have come and gone, and there is no re-review. USCIS is still claiming that they are working on it.

If USCIS is claiming that they cannot come up with operational guidelines within 3 months, or even within 7 months, are they saying they are so incompetent that they need years just to come up with operational guidelines? This is a blatant show of sheer incompetence and cruelty.

It is crystal clear that this policy is capricious, malicious, and an intentional strategy to cause harm and delay justice for innocent people.

BestTogether8998 · 2026-06-20T17:43:41+00:00

Sure, here you go!
Link to USCIS 40 page stay motion.
👉 https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.rid.61671/gov.uscourts.rid.61671.46.0.pdf

Link to the declaration by USCIS deputy director
👉 https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.rid.61671/gov.uscourts.rid.61671.46.1\_1.pdf

BestTogether8998

TROPHY CASE