A United States federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s policy suspending the processing and issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, including Nigeria.
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York ruled on Friday, August 21, 2026, that the policy was “patently unlawful” and exceeded the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The policy, announced by the U.S. State Department in January and effective from January 21, suspended immigrant visa processing for nationals of the affected countries over concerns that applicants could become dependent on public assistance in the United States.
Judge Vargas held that a blanket prohibition based solely on nationality conflicted with the Immigration and Nationality Act and improperly interfered with the authority of consular officers to make individual visa decisions.
The ruling followed a lawsuit brought by immigrant-rights organisations, affected visa applicants and U.S. citizens sponsoring relatives from the listed countries.
FULL LIST OF 75 AFFECTED COUNTRIES
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bosnia
- Brazil
- Burma (Myanmar)
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Colombia
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Cuba
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dominica
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- The Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- North Macedonia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Republic of the Congo
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
The original State Department list confirms the 75 countries and states that the suspension applied to immigrant visas, rather than ordinary temporary visitor visas.
What the court ruling means for Nigerians
The decision is significant for Nigerians with pending or prospective U.S. immigrant visa applications because the nationality-based suspension has been set aside. However, the judgment does not mean that every Nigerian applicant will automatically receive a U.S. visa.
Applicants must still satisfy the normal requirements for immigrant visas, including eligibility, security and background checks, medical requirements and other applicable immigration rules.
The ruling instead removes the blanket nationality-based barrier and restores the requirement for applications to be considered under the applicable legal framework on an individual basis.
Important distinction
The policy challenged in court concerned immigrant visas, which are used by people seeking to move permanently to the United States, including through family- and employment-based immigration.
It should therefore not be described as a blanket ban on all U.S. visas for Nigerians. The January suspension did not cover ordinary non-immigrant visas such as tourist and business visas.
Source: Reuters, AP and U.S. immigration records.