Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s policy pausing immigrant visa approvals for nationals of 75 countries violates federal immigration law.

The State Department introduced the policy in January 2026, directing consular officers to refuse covered immigrant visa applications while the government developed additional screening procedures concerning whether applicants might become dependent on public benefits.

The freeze affected primarily family-based applicants, along with some employment- and investment-based applicants.

In De Moura Gomes v. Rubio, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found that the policy exceeded the Secretary of State’s authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The law assigns consular officers—not the Secretary of State—the responsibility to evaluate visa applications individually and determine whether an applicant is likely to become a “public charge.”

According to the court, the policy unlawfully eliminated that discretion by requiring officers to refuse applications from the listed countries even when an applicant demonstrated financial self-sufficiency and otherwise qualified for approval.

The court ordered the State Department to adjudicate the plaintiff’s EB-5 immigrant visa application. Importantly, the injunction applies specifically to the plaintiff’s application and does not, by itself, immediately lift the freeze for every affected applicant of the 75-countries.

Nevertheless, the court’s conclusion that the underlying policy is unlawful may strengthen similar challenges brought by other immigrant visa applicants in New York and DC district courts.

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