By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
A United States Federal Court has blocked a policy introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration that banned immigrant visa processing for Nigerian citizens and those of 74 other countries.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas handed down the ruling on Friday, 21 August, 2026 in the Southern District of New York, declaring that the policy, which was introduced by the US Department of State in January, was unlawful and went beyond the authority granted to Secretary of State Marco Rubio under federal immigration law.
The policy, according to reports, had stopped the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, with the Trump administration justifying the move on concerns that applicants from the affected countries could become dependent on public assistance after entering the United States.
Nigeria was among the African countries placed on the list, alongside Ghana, Cameroon, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Togo and Tunisia.
The list also included countries in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, though further details on the affected nations outside Africa were not immediately disclosed.
