A federal judge in New York on Friday ruled that a Trump administration policy suspending immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries, including Nigeria is unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York called the State Department’s January 2026 policy “patently unlawful.”
She found it exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s authority and violated federal immigration law.
The Immigration and Nationality Act removes the secretary of state’s power over how consular officers decide individual immigrant visa cases and bars discrimination based on nationality.
Vargas wrote that the blanket ban “represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme.”
The State Department justified the indefinite pause, which began January 21, 2026, by claiming nationals of the listed countries were at high risk of becoming a “public charge.”
Officers were told to refuse visas even when applicants had shown they were unlikely to rely on public benefits.
The suspension covered only immigrant visas leading to permanent residency. It did not affect tourist, student, or temporary work visas.
The lawsuit was filed by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, African Communities Together, individual applicants, and U.S. citizens sponsoring relatives from the affected countries.
Vargas was appointed by former President Joe Biden. The State Department had no immediate comment.
The 75 countries include nations across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and parts of Europe.
The full list:Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia,
Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro,
Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
The ruling is expected to be appealed.
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