NEW YORK
NEW YORK — A federal judge threw out a rule that had blocked people from 75 countries from getting immigrant visas. A visa is written permission to move to another country. Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled Saturday that the rule broke a law Congress wrote. That law says an officer must look at each person one at a time. The State Department had argued that people from those countries were likely to need government help. It has not said whether it will appeal. The rule had been in place since January, and it kept many families apart.
Why it matters: Some kids in American schools have waited months for a parent or grandparent to be allowed in.
NEW YORK
NEW YORK — US District Judge Jeannette Vargas vacated a State Department policy on Saturday, calling it "patently unlawful." The policy had suspended immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries. It took effect in January 2026 and covered Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Somalia, Brazil, Colombia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and dozens of African, Middle Eastern, and Caribbean nations. The plaintiffs were eleven individuals and two nonprofit groups. The ruling turns on who Congress gave the decision to. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, consular officers judge each applicant one at a time against grounds written into statute. A blanket ban by nationality, Vargas found, "represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme." It refuses visas "to eligible applicants without any basis in law." The State Department had defended the policy on public-charge grounds. It cited data that more than 30% of immigrant households from the covered countries received some form of government aid. The department said it was "protecting the American people by upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting." The stronger version of that argument is not about any single applicant. It is that Congress handed the executive branch broad discretion over entry, a claim courts have sometimes accepted. One word in the ruling matters. The policy was vacated, not enjoined. It is struck down rather than paused. The department has not said whether it will appeal to the Second Circuit.
Background
Immigrant visas are the category used by people joining relatives already in the United States, so the eight-month suspension mostly separated families rather than reducing arrivals across the board. A separate travel ban covering 39 countries and a pause on diversity visas were not part of this case and remain in place.
Why it matters: If the ruling stands, it narrows how far a president can act by nationality alone. If it is reversed, the opposite is true. Either outcome will shape immigration policy long after this administration.
What to watch: Whether the Justice Department files a notice of appeal, and whether consulates begin working through the backlog while any appeal is pending.