Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump Administration's 75-Country Visa Suspension

Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump Administration's 75-Country Visa Suspension. By Scott McClallen. Aug 21, 2026 9:36 PM.

A federal judge has struck down the Trump administration's suspension of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries.

U.S. District Judge Jeanette A. Vargas ruled on Friday that U.S. Department of State guidance violated the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network had sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio to challenge the guidance. On Jan. 14, the U.S. Department of State announced that it would suspend immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries who posed a high risk of using welfare or becoming a public charge.

Congress has provided five factors that consular offices must consider when deciding whether a non-citizen is likely to become a public charge: the non-citizen's age, health, family status, assets, resources, and finances, and education and skills, Vargas wrote.

"Accordingly, '[n]o single factor, other than the lack of a qualifying affidavit of support, in accordance with INA 213A, if required, will determine whether an individual is a public charge,' Vargas wrote in the 61-page ruling.

Vargas wrote that all immigrant visa applications must be handled by a consular officer.

"Moreover, the INA provides that 'no person shall receive any preference or priority or be discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person's race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence.'"

So the U.S. Department of State can't suspend admissibility based on their country of origin, Vargas wrote.

"Congress intended the public charge ground of inadmissibility to apply to those non-citizens who were likely to be unable to support themselves in the future and to rely on the government for subsistence," Vargas wrote.

The plaintiffs have standing to sue because their families were refused visas, Vargas wrote.

"These injuries are directly traceable to the Policy directing consular officers to refuse immigrant visa applicants of certain nationalities. Because of their nationalities, the U.S.-citizen Plaintiffs' family members who were interviewed by consular officers and the intending-immigrant Plaintiffs have been refused visas," Vargas wrote.

EMBEDDED OPINION TEXT (Scribd embed of gov.uscourts.nysd.657161.83.0, CLINIC v. Rubio, 26-CV-00858 (JAV), Opinion and Order, Filed 08/21/26):

On January 14, 2026, the United States Department of State ("DOS") announced that, effective January 21, 2026, it would suspend the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries (the "Announcement"). The Announcement explained that DOS deemed immigrants from those 75 countries to pose a high risk of utilizing welfare or becoming a public charge.

That same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ("Secretary Rubio") transmitted a cable (the "Cable") to all diplomatic and consular posts, directing consular officers to implement this new policy on January 21, 2026. Consular officers were ordered to refuse immigrant visas to nationals of the 75 designated countries, regardless of whether the consular officer had, following an individualized assessment, determined that the applicant was not likely to become a public charge and that the applicant was otherwise eligible for a visa.

The nationality-based immigrant visa suspension policy embodied in the Announcement and the Cable (the "Policy") thus has the effect of categorically banning the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of nearly 40% of the world's countries. Plaintiffs in this case—Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. ("CLINIC"), African Communities Together ("ACT"), applicants for immigrant visas from designated countries, and United States citizens who are sponsoring family members from designated countries for immigrant visas—have brought this action seeking, inter alia, vacatur of the Policy and declaratory relief. Presently before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for partial summary judgment. The Court holds that the Policy is contrary to law and was issued in excess of Secretary Rubio's statutory authority. The Policy is therefore vacated under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA").

The INA confers upon consular officers exclusive authority to review applications for visas, precluding even the Secretary of State from controlling their determinations. Saavedra Bruno v. Albright, 197 F.3d 1153, 1156 (D.C. Cir. 1999). All immigrant visa applications must ultimately be adjudicated by a consular officer.