On July 21, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued an order in Venez. Ass’n of Mass., et al. v. United States Citizenship and Immigr. Servs., et al., 26-cv-13038-NMG (D. Mass.), granting, in part, plaintiffs’ emergency motion for an administrative stay of certain USCIS policies based on H.R. 1, the Reconciliation Act of 2025—known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The plaintiffs are membership-based organizations representing individuals holding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and pending asylum applicants. 

USCIS will comply with the court’s order pending further judicial proceedings. 

The court’s order stays the following portions of the July 2025 Federal Register Notice (FRN), March 2026 website Update, and April 2026 Interim Final Rule (IFR): 

• Application of H.R. 1 to TPS-based employment authorization document (EAD) expiration deadlines, meaning that any TPS-based EAD previously extended shall maintain its prior expiration date;  

• Rejection of asylum applications for failure to pay the annual asylum fee (AAF); 

• Termination of work authorization as a result of failing to pay the AAF; and 

• Initiation of removal procedures based solely on an alien’s failure to pay the AAF.