USA

US Court Strikes Down Trump Administration’s Immigrant Visa Suspension for 75 Countries

22 August 2026 18:08 PM

NEWS DESK

A U.S. federal court has struck down as unlawful a Trump administration policy that suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to citizens of 75 countries, including Bangladesh.

Manhattan District Judge Janet Vargas ruled on Friday that the policy, announced by the State Department in January, was “clearly unlawful” and exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s legal authority.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, along with U.S. citizens seeking visas for relatives from the affected countries.

Judge Vargas said the policy violated federal immigration law by effectively preventing consular officers from processing immigrant visa applications based solely on an applicant’s nationality.

“A policy that categorically stopped the issuance of immigrant visas based solely on the applicant’s nationality directly violates this statutory framework,” Vargas wrote in her ruling.

The policy, which took effect in January, affected applicants from countries including Bangladesh and Pakistan in South Asia; Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay in Latin America; Bosnia and Albania in the Balkans; as well as numerous countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

The State Department had argued that immigrants from the affected countries posed a high risk of becoming a “public charge” by relying on U.S. federal, state or local government resources.

The department did not immediately comment on the court’s ruling.

The decision is another legal setback for President Donald Trump’s restrictive immigration agenda. Since returning to office, Trump has pursued a series of measures aimed at tightening immigration and strengthening border and national security policies.

The Trump administration had defended the immigrant visa suspension as part of its effort to prevent potential immigrants from becoming dependent on public assistance. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott previously said the department would use its longstanding authority to deny admission to prospective immigrants who could become a burden on the United States.

The policy took effect on January 21.

Immigrant rights groups, however, had argued that the administration’s measures violated fundamental rights and created an environment of discrimination, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities.

Immigrant Visa policy Strike Down