US Judge strikes down Trump’s visa suspension policy for 75 countries

President Donald Trump’s policy of suspending the visa to applicants from 75 countries has been struck down by a United States judge on Friday. In her ruling, Judge Jeannette Vargas of Manhattan stated that the policy was “patently unlawful,” and exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory authority.

She announced her judgement in the Southern District of New York and said that the policy introduced by President Trump has clearly conflicted with federal immigration law. It has also stripped the secretary of state of authority over consular officers’ adjudication of immigrant visas, as per the Judge.

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, she wrote.

The ruling came on a lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together. In addition, the lawsuit was also filed by applicants for immigrant visas and US citizens sponsoring family members from the designated countries.

Notably, the policy was introduced in January 2026 due to which the applicants from these 75 countries have faced the suspension of their visas to the country. The applicants from Latin American countries including Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay; Balkan nations such as Bosnia and Albania; South Asian countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh; and many nations in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean have faced the suspension.

Notably, the suspension also affected the applicants from Caribbean nations including Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Haiti, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Prime Minister Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne also lauded the current ruling and expressed his gratitude.

Under the policy, the applicants from these countries have been put “at a high risk for becoming a public charge and recourse to local, state and federal government resources in the United States.”

The Trump administration has rapidly expanded its immigration restrictions as part of its broader effort to tighten border and immigration controls, which he has framed as a matter of national security. The Center for Constitutional Rights said the freeze came amid a series of measures introduced in quick succession.

These included a wider travel ban affecting 39 countries, which came into effect on January 1, and a separate suspension of diversity visa issuances announced in late December.

Several groups have stated that the crackdown violates free speech and due process rights, particularly for minorities, who have raised concerns about racial profiling. No further statement have been issued by the State of the Department.