Court Strikes Down Trump-Era Visa Suspension for 75 Nations

A federal judge in New York has overturned a Trump administration policy that suspended immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and Somalia. The administration had argued these applicants were likely to rely on public assistance.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, appointed by former President Joe Biden, ruled on Friday that the policy was "contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority." She found that Secretary of State Marco Rubio overstepped his powers by imposing a blanket refusal on eligible applicants without legal basis.

The judge emphasized that Congress gave consular officers exclusive discretion to assess visa eligibility based on individual criteria. The policy, she wrote, "categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant," directly undermining that statutory scheme.

The lawsuit was filed by two nonprofit organizations and eleven individuals, including six whose family members were denied visas and five overseas applicants with pending employment-based petitions.

Anna Gallagher, executive director of CLINIC, one of the plaintiff organizations, welcomed the ruling, saying it helps keep families together and upholds both human dignity and the rule of law.

The State Department defended the policy, stating it is protecting Americans through rigorous screening and vetting, but declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

The policy, issued in November, instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the listed countries, citing data that over 30 percent of households with immigrants from those nations received public assistance. A related cable also directed heightened scrutiny of non-immigrant applicants for potential public-benefit use.

This ruling is part of a broader pattern of courts reversing Trump administration immigration measures. In June, another federal judge struck down a policy that imposed hurdles on immigrants from dozens of countries, affecting asylum, work permits, and green cards, and criticized the government for throwing lives into legal limbo.