Federal Court Temporarily Pauses Certain USCIS Policies Affecting Work Permits
On July 21, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an administrative stay temporarily blocking portions of USCIS policies involving Temporary Protected Status employment authorization and consequences connected to the annual asylum fee.
USCIS announced that it would comply with the court order while the litigation continues.
What did the court temporarily pause?
The order temporarily stops USCIS from enforcing the following policies:
- Applying newer expiration limitations to certain previously extended TPS-based Employment Authorization Documents;
- Rejecting a pending asylum application solely because the applicant did not pay the annual asylum fee;
- Terminating employment authorization solely because of failure to pay the annual asylum fee; and
- Beginning removal procedures based solely on failure to pay that fee.
As a result, TPS-based work permits previously extended under an applicable designation maintain the expiration date they had before the challenged policy was applied, subject to the terms of the court order and any later government announcement.
What the ruling does not mean
The court did not permanently eliminate the annual asylum fee or every policy concerning TPS and asylum-based work authorization.
The order is temporary and limited to the policies identified by the court. The litigation is continuing, and the court could later extend, modify or end the stay.
Applicants should not assume that every expired TPS work permit is automatically valid. Employment authorization depends on the person’s country designation, EAD category, printed expiration date, applicable automatic extensions and current court orders.