A United States federal court has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended the processing and issuance of immigrant visas for citizens of Nigeria and 74 other countries.
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York delivered the ruling on Friday, August 21, 2026, declaring the policy unlawful and beyond the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The policy, introduced by the U.S. Department of State on January 21, 2026, placed immigrant visa applications from nationals of 75 countries on indefinite hold while the administration reviewed its immigration procedures.
Nigeria was among the African countries affected, alongside Ghana, Cameroon, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Tunisia.
Other affected countries included Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba and Haiti.
The Trump administration had defended the suspension on the grounds that applicants from the affected countries were considered more likely to become dependent on U.S. government welfare programmes after entering the country.
A State Department directive had instructed U.S. missions to halt the issuance of affected immigrant visas, including some applications that had already been approved for printing but had not yet been printed.
Principal Deputy State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the policy was intended to prevent the admission of immigrants who could become a “public charge” on the United States.
The suspension had significant implications for Nigerians and other foreign nationals seeking to reunite with family members legally residing in the U.S., as well as some employment-based immigrant visa applicants whose cases were already advanced.
The legal challenge was brought by affected families, visa applicants and immigrant rights organisations, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. and African Communities Together. The plaintiffs argued that the State Department had unlawfully created a nationality-based barrier to legal immigration without authority from Congress.
Judge Vargas agreed, ruling that the policy conflicted with the structure of federal immigration law.
She rejected the administration’s attempt to impose a blanket suspension based solely on applicants’ nationalities, describing the measure as “patently unlawful.”
“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,” Vargas wrote.
The judge also held that Rubio had exceeded his statutory authority and vacated the policy under the Administrative Procedure Act.
The court further ordered the State Department to resume lawful, case-by-case consideration of affected immigrant visa applications and set aside visa denials based solely on the now-invalid policy.
The ruling could therefore reopen a pathway for thousands of applicants whose cases were stalled by the January suspension.
However, the decision does not automatically guarantee immigrant visas to Nigerians or other affected nationals. Applicants must still meet all existing immigration requirements and remain subject to security checks, medical examinations and individual eligibility determinations.
