Costing an adjudication hold: the 2026 holds as a worked example

A slow queue has a published processing time to measure against. A hold has none: the agency has decided not to decide, and nobody says for how long. Finance still needs a number, and the honest way to give one is to split what is certain from what is at risk.

The example

USCIS issued PM-602-0192 on 2 December 2025 and widened it on 1 January 2026. Each memorandum said the hold would remain until lifted by the Director. It ended, for now, through a court order: the District of Rhode Island vacated the policies on 5 June 2026 and entered final judgment on 11 June, as USCIS records in its alert. For an affected employee that was roughly six months with no decision, followed by an appeal that could change the position again.

The method

Certain months. Time already lost is a fact. Price it with the five components in calculating what a delay costs: blocked productivity, avoidable filings, replacement risk, project impact and household effects.

Months at risk. For the future, use scenarios rather than a forecast: a short case, a central case and a long case, each with its own monthly carrying cost. Attach a review date to each scenario instead of waiting for an announcement.

Hard stops. Mark the dates on which cost stops being gradual: an EAD expiry, an H-1B maximum, a child's 21st birthday. These are the dates that justify spending money, and they are the dates a court will look for.

What evidence to collect while waiting

• The receipt, every inquiry and every answer, in the evidence file.
• Confirmation of why the case is held. A request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, can show what the file records; Mandamus.com explains the route on FOIA mandamus and with a worked example on a FOIA case over an I-485.
• A monthly check of whether comparable cases are moving. A free tool such as the receipt-number check helps frame the question.

The decision point

Once the at-risk cost in the central scenario exceeds the one-time cost of acting, the case for a delay suit can be written in the terms set out in the business case for filing. The objection that a suit will provoke the agency is addressed on does mandamus hurt my case. After the vacatur, a case still held for nationality alone is in a stronger position than before, as discussed in Dorcas v. USCIS.

Questions

Can a hold be measured against a processing time?

Not meaningfully, because the hold suspends the queue. Compare instead with similar cases that are not held and with the date the hold began.

Is a FOIA request worth the wait?

It can confirm what the agency has recorded about the case, which helps both an inquiry and a later complaint. Responses themselves can be slow.

Should the company wait for the appeal to end?

Set a review date instead. An appeal can take many months, and hard-stop dates do not wait for it.

General information, not legal advice. Rules and processing practice change; verify against the agency's own published figures and take advice on your own facts.