US court overturns Trump's immigrant visa suspension for 75 nations
Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled Marco Rubio could not override consular officers, ending an immigrant visa freeze covering 75 countries.
- A US District Judge in Manhattan overturned the Trump administration's suspension of immigrant visas that affected applicants from 75 nations.
- The judge ruled the policy was "patently unlawful," stating that the Secretary of State had acted beyond his authority, as decisions on immigrant visas legally rest with consular officers.
- The State Department had justified the suspension by claiming that applicants from the designated countries posed a "high risk for becoming a public charge."
Control over immigrant visa decisions rests with consular officers rather than the Secretary of State, a Manhattan judge ruled when overturning a Trump administration suspension affecting applicants from 75 countries.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas handed down the judgment on Friday (August 21, 2026), concluding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had acted beyond the authority granted to him under federal immigration law.
Vargas described the measure as “patently unlawful” and wrote: “The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme.”
The State Department announced the suspension in January and implemented it that same month.
It applied to Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay in Latin America; Bosnia and Albania in the Balkans; and Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia.
Numerous African, Middle Eastern and Caribbean countries were also covered.
The department maintained that applicants from the designated countries were “at a high risk for becoming a public charge and recourse to local, state and federal government resources in the United States”.
It gave no immediate response when asked to comment on the judgment.
Those challenging the restriction comprised Catholic Legal Immigration Network, African Communities Together, immigrant visa applicants and US citizens sponsoring relatives from the designated countries.
Vargas was appointed by former president Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Trump says his immigration crackdown is designed to improve domestic security.
Rights organisations counter that it has breached free-speech and due-process rights, made conditions unsafe, particularly for ethnic minorities and intensified concerns about racial profiling.
Source: Reuters
