Federal Court Ends the 75 Country Immigrant Visa Suspension, but Separate Travel Ban Remains in Effect

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has vacated the U.S. Department of State’s policy suspending immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries. Announced in January 2026, the policy was based on the Department’s stated concern that certain immigrants could become dependent on U.S. public benefits. The court’s decision rejected the government’s sweeping approach to freezing out nearly 40% of the world’s nationalities from U.S. immigrant visa processing. This represents an important development for family-sponsored, employment-based, and other immigrant visa applicants whose cases were delayed or placed on hold under the 75 country suspension policy. In short, the 75 country ban no longer applies. 

CLINIC, the nonprofit organization that challenged the policy, welcomed the decision, stating: “This decision is a significant victory for the hundreds of thousands of families across the world whose lives were thrown into chaos by this administration’s unlawful and discriminatory visa ban.” Read CLINIC’s press release for additional background on the litigation and the decision. 

The countries no longer subject to the 75 country immigrant visa suspension policy are as follows: 

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote 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. 

Presidential Proclamation 10998, the travel ban for 39 countries, remains valid 

The court’s ruling, however, did not invalidate the separate presidential travel restrictions first issued in June 2025 and later updated effective January 1, 2026, under Presidential Proclamation 10998. Those restrictions remain in effect for certain immigrant visa applicants. The Department of State has explained that applicants subject to the proclamation may continue to submit applications and attend scheduled interviews, but they may be ineligible for immigrant visa issuance unless an exception or case-by-case national-interest determination applies. 

For immigrant visa purposes, the 39 countries subject to a suspension of immigrant visa processing or restricted entry to the U.S. under the January 2026 update are: Afghanistan, Burma, Burkina Faso, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Immigrant visa issuance is also suspended, subject to limited exceptions, for nationals of the following countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Turkmenistan. The restrictions also apply to individuals using travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.  

Limited exceptions to this ban apply. It is critical to review your case with your immigration attorney to understand if an exception can apply to your case. 

The travel ban on nationals from these 39 countries was not affected by the recent court decision. In addition, the Department of State has not yet provided comprehensive guidance explaining when immigrant visa processing will resume for applicants affected by the vacated 75 country policy, whether previously delayed cases will be reviewed automatically, or how consular posts will implement the decision. Finally, immigration attorneys across the country, including MMH attorneys, are seeing cancellations of existing visa interviews. The New York Times reported today that the Department of State has ordered that all existing visa interviews be rescheduled to allow consular officers to undergo additional training. For all of these reasons, we cannot predict how or when cases that are impacted by this court decision will move forward. 

Before scheduling travel, submitting a new application, or relying on the court’s decision in any way, applicants should review their case with their immigration attorney.