US Resumes Immigrant Visa Processing After Court Overturns Seven-Month Freeze

The US State Department has resumed normal immigrant visa processing after a federal court struck down a seven-month suspension affecting applicants from 75 countries.

The suspension was overturned by Judge Jeannette A. Vargas on 21 August in CLINIC et al. v. Rubio. The ruling invalidated a directive issued in January by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which instructed consular officers to deny most immigrant visa applications from the affected countries on the grounds that applicants could become a “public charge”.

The court found that the policy had several legal defects. It ruled that the directive violated a 1965 civil rights provision prohibiting nationality-based discrimination in immigration decisions. The court also found that applicants were being denied visas without formal findings of ineligibility, contrary to the requirement for individual assessment. It further concluded that Rubio did not have the legal authority to impose such a broad suspension.

The State Department confirmed on 28 August that consular operations had returned to normal procedures. Consular posts have been instructed to reconsider applications that were refused solely because of the applicant's nationality. Refusals based on other grounds remain in effect.

Interviews and visa processing have also resumed. Applicants who already held valid immigrant visas were not affected by the suspension. Non-immigrant visa categories, including tourist and business visas, were also excluded from the policy.

The suspension covered 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Russia and Cuba, as well as countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The broad scope of the policy led to legal challenges over whether nationality could be used as the basis for suspending immigrant visa processing.

The court did not send the case back to the State Department for further action. Instead, it issued a declaratory judgment setting out the statutory violations. The parties have been ordered to submit a joint letter by 11 September explaining how they intend to address the remaining claims, including challenges to a separate public charge rule introduced in late 2025.

The State Department is also reviewing its procedures for assessing applicants' potential use of public benefits. The review could lead to continued scrutiny of public charge issues under other legal provisions, even though the nationality-based suspension has been overturned.

The ruling restores immigrant visa processing for applicants who were affected solely by the nationality-based policy, while leaving the wider legal dispute over public charge rules unresolved.