- USCIS approved 139 of 586 cases involving Cuban adjustment applicants in April through June 2026.
- The Cuban approval rate fell to 23.7 percent, down from 52.6 percent in the previous quarter.
- A Massachusetts lawsuit challenges two policies; the court had not ruled on preliminary relief by mid-October.
The agency approved 139 of 586 Cuban adjustment-of-status applications decided in April–June 2026 and denied 447. The 23.7% approval rate marked a steep quarterly decline.
In January–March, it approved 50 cases and denied 45, producing a 52.6% approval rate. The number of Cuban cases decided then was 95, compared with 586 in the later quarter.
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The drop in approvals came alongside a fall in new filings. Applications received declined from 15,312 to 6,279 between the two quarters, even as decisions on Cuban cases increased.
Other categories moved less sharply. Family-based approvals fell from 86% to 81.7%, and employment-based approvals slipped from 93.9% to 93%. Cuban approvals fell 28.9 percentage points.
The 23.7% figure counts only applications approved or denied during April–June. It does not measure the share of all Cuban applicants who will ultimately receive permanent residence. The cases decided in that period may also have been filed or processed under earlier procedures.
A May memo tightened the administration’s position on adjustment
On May 21, 2026, USCIS issued a policy memorandum describing adjustment of status as discretionary and calling it “administrative grace.” The memo said people temporarily in the United States should generally return to their home countries for consular processing, unless extraordinary circumstances apply.
The Trump Administration says its stricter approach aims to combat fraud and abuse, strengthen immigration enforcement and restore what it views as immigration law’s original purpose. The memo arrived during the quarter in which the approval rate fell, but those figures alone do not establish that it caused the decline.
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 has provided a route for eligible Cuban nationals and certain Cuban-born individuals to adjust status after at least one year of physical presence in the United States. Eligibility is not automatic.
The administration has argued that some Cubans who entered under newer parole programs do not qualify for the same protection. That position is now part of the legal dispute. The May memo and the later evidence policy are separate actions, and the April–June numbers predate the August guidance.
August guidance gave officers more room to deny incomplete filings
On August 5, 2026, the agency issued Policy Alert PA-2026-05. It removed an earlier obligation to give some applicants a chance to correct evidentiary deficiencies through a Request for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Deny.
Officers may now deny certain applications outright when required initial evidence is missing or inadequate. The agency’s examples include an unreadable passport copy and an outdated medical examination. This guidance came after the quarter behind the 23.7% rate.
A Massachusetts case challenges both policies
A lawsuit filed on October 5, 2026, in federal court in Massachusetts challenges both the May adjustment-of-status memo and the August policy. The policies remained in effect as of mid-October.
The court had not ruled on the requested preliminary relief by then. The case therefore challenges rules that were still operating, rather than changes already blocked by a court.
The next quarterly report will cover July–September 2026. It should provide the first substantial data on decisions after the August guidance, although the figures may not isolate the effect of any single policy change.
