A US federal court has blocked the Trump administration’s decision to suspend immigrant visa processing for citizens of Nigeria and 74 other countries.
The ruling, delivered on Friday by US District Judge Jeannette Vargas at the Southern District of New York, found that the policy introduced by the US Department of State exceeded the authority granted to Secretary of State Marco Rubio under federal immigration law.
The policy, which came into effect in January, had halted the processing of immigrant visa applications from the affected countries, leaving applicants unable to proceed with their plans to permanently relocate to the United States.
The Trump administration had defended the decision, citing concerns that some immigrants from the affected countries could become dependent on public assistance after entering the country.
Nigeria was among the African countries affected by the policy, alongside Ghana, Cameroon, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Tunisia.
The 75-country list also included nations across Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Following the court ruling, the suspension of immigrant visa processing under the disputed policy has been blocked while the legal challenge continues.
The decision provides temporary relief for applicants from the affected countries whose visa applications were disrupted by the policy.
