A United States federal judge has nullified the US visa ban suspending immigrant visa processing for nationals of Nigeria and 74 other countries.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas issued the ruling on Friday in Manhattan, describing the January directive by the Donald Trump administration as unlawful. The judge held that the policy exceeded the statutory authority of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The suspension took effect on January 21 and prevented the issuance of immigrant visas to citizens of the affected countries. The administration had justified the measure by claiming that applicants from the countries presented a high risk of becoming dependent on public assistance in the United States.
Nigeria was among the 75 countries covered by the directive.
The complete list included Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Republic of Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The Trump administration had cited welfare-dependency concerns in defending the measure. It had also published data suggesting that about 33.3 per cent of Nigerian immigrant households received some form of public assistance.
In her ruling, Vargas, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, said the suspension conflicted with federal immigration law.
She held that Congress had not granted the Secretary of State the authority to categorically suspend immigrant visa issuance based solely on an applicant’s nationality. The judge described the policy as a direct departure from the statutory framework governing immigrant visas.
The lawsuit was brought by immigrant rights organisations, including Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together. US citizens sponsoring relatives and visa applicants from affected countries also joined the legal challenge.
The State Department had instructed US missions in January to refuse applicants whose visas had been authorised for printing but had not yet been printed. Officials said the suspension was necessary to conduct a comprehensive review of immigration processing.
The department argued that applicants from the affected countries posed a heightened risk of becoming a public charge. Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott defended the policy, saying the department had longstanding authority to prevent potential immigrants from becoming dependent on US welfare programmes.
The Trump administration has pursued a broad immigration crackdown since returning to office in January, citing national security and concerns over the use of public benefits. The latest ruling, however, places a major legal obstacle in the path of the administration’s US visa ban policy and could affect immigrant visa applicants from all 75 countries covered by the directive.
