Relief may have come for Nigerians and citizens of 74 other countries after a United States federal judge struck down the Donald Trump administration’s controversial policy suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of the affected countries.

US District Judge Jeannette Vargas, sitting in Manhattan, ruled on Friday that the policy exceeded the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conflicted with federal immigration law.

Vargas described the policy, announced by the US State Department in January, as “patently unlawful,” arguing that Congress had expressly limited the secretary of state’s authority over consular officers processing immigrant visas.

“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,” Vargas wrote, according to Reuters.

The judge, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden, issued the ruling following a lawsuit brought by immigrant rights organisations, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, alongside immigrant-visa applicants and US citizens sponsoring relatives from the affected countries.

Nigeria among countries affected

The State Department’s suspension, which took effect in January, covered applicants from 75 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, the Caribbean and parts of Eastern Europe.

Nigeria was among the African countries affected, alongside Ghana, Cameroon, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Togo, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya and several others.

Other countries on the list included Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay in Latin America; Pakistan and Bangladesh in South Asia; and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro in Europe.

The State Department had justified the restrictions by arguing that applicants from the designated countries posed a high risk of becoming a “public charge” and relying on local, state and federal government resources.

The administration maintained that the measure formed part of Trump’s broader immigration crackdown aimed at strengthening US national security and protecting public resources.

However, the policy attracted legal challenges from immigrant rights groups, which argued that nationality-based suspension of immigrant visa processing violated federal law and unfairly discriminated against applicants.

75 countries on visa suspension list

The countries affected by the policy included Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, 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, Kyrgyz Republic, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, 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 and Yemen.

The Trump administration had argued that nationals of the affected countries were more likely to “extract wealth” or rely on public benefits after entering the United States.

The policy’s critics, however, argued that its broad nationality-based approach disproportionately targeted countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, raising questions about discrimination and equal treatment under US immigration law.

Friday’s ruling could therefore provide significant relief to thousands of prospective immigrants from Nigeria and the other affected countries, although the Trump administration may appeal the decision.