A federal judge in Atlanta on Wednesday refused to lift the Trump administration’s open-ended pause on processing immigration applications for people from countries the White House has tagged as security risks. That ruling means at least 265 applicants will not get interim relief and will see their green card, work-permit and naturalization cases stay on ice for now while the court watches to see whether the federal government acts within 60 days.
Judge Holds The Line While Immigrants Sit In Limbo
U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg acknowledged that some plaintiffs are staring down fast-approaching expiration dates for both their lawful immigration status and their ability to work in the United States. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Grimberg denied interim relief to at least 265 immigrants, many from Iran, and wrote, "Each day that the hold remains in place is another day closer to the expiration of plaintiffs’ lawful status and work authorization."
Inside The Federal Pause And How It Spread
Legal analysis traces the pause back to a December USCIS memorandum that ordered a "hold and review" on asylum petitions and discretionary immigration benefit requests filed by people from designated "high-risk" countries. That policy was then expanded in January to sweep in additional nationalities. As outlined by Gibson Dunn, the memos called for extra vetting, a re-review of some prior approvals, and, in parallel, reporting indicates the State Department separately stopped immigrant-visa processing for dozens more countries.
Doctors Get A Carve-Out, Others Stay Stuck
Even as the broader pause continues, the federal government has quietly carved out an exemption for physicians, allowing many doctors’ green-card and visa cases to move forward again. As reported by the Associated Press, advocates and applicants say that change may help some hospitals fill crucial roles but still leaves researchers, entrepreneurs and students from the affected countries unable to work or renew their paperwork.
Judges Nationwide Do Not Agree On The Pause
Grimberg pointed out that other federal judges around the country have landed in different places on similar lawsuits challenging the same hold, underscoring how unsettled the law is here. He suggested that the ultimate strength of the case against the pause could depend heavily on how long the government keeps it in place. If the freeze drags on, he warned it could turn into a "battle of attrition" against people simply waiting for routine immigration decisions, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Sixty-Day Clock Starts Ticking For The Feds
For now, Grimberg has effectively started a countdown, giving the government 60 days to show movement before he said he would revisit whether to keep the hold in place. That deadline could turbocharge appeals and new filings in other courts as lawyers look for faster relief. Reporting from The Washington Post notes that this pause is just one piece of a much larger legal fight over the administration’s sweeping vetting changes, which are already producing clashing rulings across the country.
