Federal Court Strikes Down 75-Country Visa Ban: Green Card Applicants Win Major 2026 Victory

On August 21, 2026, Judge Jeannette A. Vargas of the Southern District of New York vacated one of the broadest immigration restrictions in modern U.S. history. The ruling in Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) v. Rubio, No. 26-CV-00858, struck down a State Department policy enacted January 21, 2026 that categorically suspended immigrant visa issuances to nationals of 75 countries — nearly 40% of all nations — on public charge risk grounds. The court found the policy unlawful on four independent grounds. First, it violated the INA's anti-discrimination mandate, which since 1965 has prohibited nationality-based discrimination in immigrant visa issuance. Second, it ordered consular refusals with no valid statutory basis. Third, it usurped the exclusive adjudicative authority Congress granted to consular officers. Fourth, it exceeded the Secretary of State's statutory powers under the INA. For EB-3 applicants from affected countries — including Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and Pakistan — the ruling is directly significant. Many skilled workers and professionals with fully approved petitions were denied solely due to their nationality, not any individual ineligibility finding. The court's remedy goes beyond a declaration: it vacated the policy nationwide and remanded all visa refusals made solely under the ban for genuine, individualized adjudication. This means affected EB-3 applicants should expect their cases to be reopened at consular posts for merit-based review. Applicants who received INA § 221(g) refusals tied to the January 2026 policy should consult with immigration counsel to confirm their cases are requeued for proper adjudication. NVC processing timelines may be impacted as a backlog of remanded cases moves forward. The decision marks a significant legal precedent affirming that consular visa decisions must be made on individual statutory grounds, not blanket nationality-based policy mandates. Immigration attorneys and advocacy groups are monitoring whether the government will appeal the ruling.