A federal judge in New York has ruled that President Donald Trump and the US State Department exceeded their authority when they suspended the processing of visa applications for nationals of 75 countries earlier this year — a move that critics at the time denounced as a "travesty," cruel, and contrary to the rule of law.

US District Judge Jeannette Vargas, a Biden appointee, ruled Friday that the pause in visa applications — which Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed was necessary to prevent immigrant visitors from freeloading on US taxpayer dollars — was "contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority."

Vargas determined that the policy, first announced by Rubio in January, "runs afoul" of the Immigration and Nationality Act by mandating "the refusal of visas to eligible applicants without any basis in law."

According to the Associated Press, Vargas wrote that the policy also undermines a congressional requirement that places consular officers at the forefront of any visa decision.

"Congress imbued these officers with exclusive authority and discretion to determine if an immigrant is eligible for a visa based upon review of specific and detailed criteria set forth in the statute," she wrote. "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."

The statute already contains the safeguard the administration invoked in principle: the Immigration and Nationality Act's public-charge provision makes applicants likely to become primarily dependent on public benefits inadmissible, through an individualized weighing of factors such as age, health, family status, finances, and education. Vargas's ruling found that the pause replaced that case-by-case process with a categorical refusal based solely on nationality.

The policy was challenged in court by two nonprofit organizations together with 11 individuals, six of whom had family members who were refused visas. The remaining five are outside the country and had filed "employment-based petitions" to come to the United States.

Nationality-based entry restrictions have been heavily litigated in the United States before: the first Trump administration's travel bans, aimed at nationals of several predominantly Muslim countries, were upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018 under a separate statutory authority, INA Section 212(f), permitting the president to suspend the entry of certain foreign nationals. Friday's decision concerns a different mechanism — the routine issuance of immigrant visas, which Congress assigned to consular officers. As a district-court ruling, it remains subject to appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and how quickly consular processing resumes across the 75 affected countries after roughly seven months of suspension remains to be seen.

Advocates welcomed the ruling. Diana Konate, deputy executive director for policy and advocacy at African Communities Together, one of the organizations that took part in the legal challenge, called the decision a "tremendous victory for the rule of law."

"This unlawful and racist ban caused immeasurable harm, cruelly keeping families and loved ones apart," Konate said. "Today, we are elated to tell our community members: this ban is no more."

The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), the other nonprofit behind the suit that led to the ruling, welcomed the decision in a statement on Saturday, calling it "an important victory for families who faced prolonged uncertainty and separation because of a policy that treated applicants differently based on their country of origin rather than their individual circumstances."

"At its heart," said Anna Gallagher, CLINIC's executive director, "this case is about keeping families together."

"The suspension of lawful visa issuance across 75 countries separated spouses, parents and children who were simply following the legal immigration process," Gallagher said. "Catholic social teaching calls us to uphold the dignity of every person and recognize the family as the foundation of society. Today's decision affirms both those values and the rule of law, allowing families to once again move forward toward reunification."

For the last seven months straight, the U.S. government has refused to process immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries around the world; including visas for spouses of U.S. citizens. Today, a federal judge ruled the policy flagrantly illegal. pic.twitter.com/TzeRnHILzH

— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) August 22, 2026