Control over immigrant visa decisions rests with consular officers rather than the Secretary of State, a Manhattan judge ruled when overturning a Trump administration suspension affecting applicants from 75 countries.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas handed down the judgment on Friday (August 21, 2026), concluding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had acted beyond the authority granted to him under federal immigration law.
Vargas described the measure as “patently unlawful” and wrote: “The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme.”