- A US judge has blocked the suspension of immigrant visas for Nigerians
- The policy affected citizens of 75 countries
- The ruling could provide relief for affected Nigerian applicants
A US federal judge has overturned a Trump administration policy that suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to citizens of 75 countries, including Nigeria.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that US District Judge Jeannette Vargas delivered the ruling on Friday in Manhattan, finding that the policy went beyond the legal powers of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was inconsistent with existing US immigration law.
The judge described the measure as “patently unlawful,” according to reports.
The US Department of State introduced the visa suspension on January 21, 2026, saying it was intended to prevent immigration by nationals considered likely to depend on public benefits in the United States.
The affected countries are spread across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.
In Africa, the countries affected alongside Nigeria included Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda.
The wider list also included countries such as Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, Georgia, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine and Yemen, among others.
Under the suspended policy, citizens of the affected countries were still permitted to file immigrant visa applications and attend interviews. However, the actual issuance of the visas was put on hold.
The restriction applied to immigrant visas for individuals seeking permanent residence in the US and did not cover tourist visas.
The legal challenge was filed by immigrant advocacy groups, visa applicants affected by the policy and American citizens seeking to sponsor family members.
They argued that the government had unlawfully imposed immigration restrictions based solely on nationality.
Judge Vargas agreed with the challengers, ruling that the State Department had exceeded its statutory authority and acted contrary to the legal framework governing immigrant visas.
The decision is a setback for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda and could allow Nigerians and other affected applicants to resume progress on immigrant visa cases that had been frozen.
However, the ruling does not eliminate other US visa restrictions that may affect Nigerian nationals.
Separate measures remain in place covering certain categories of both immigrant and non-immigrant visas for citizens of several countries, including Nigeria.
The State Department had yet to announce its response to the ruling at the time of reporting.
