A federal judge in Manhattan ruled on 22 August 2026 that the Trump administration's suspension of immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries was "patently unlawful," finding that it conflicted with federal immigration law which explicitly strips the Secretary of State of authority over visa adjudication. Judge Jeannette Vargas said the policy, which took effect in January and affected Latin American, South Asian, Balkan, African, Middle Eastern and Caribbean nations, "represents a direct abrogation" of the statutory scheme. The ruling was issued in a lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, along with US citizens sponsoring family members from the designated countries.
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