A federal judge has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, ruling that the measure violated federal law.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas in Manhattan declared the State Department directive “patently unlawful,” finding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio exceeded his statutory authority by halting visa adjudications based solely on an applicant’s nationality.

“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,” Judge Vargas wrote in her opinion, noting that federal immigration law explicitly restricts the secretary of state from overriding consular officers’ independent processing authority.

The State Department policy, introduced in January, instructed U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide to pause processing immigrant visas while officials reviewed vetting protocols. Administration officials defended the freeze by arguing applicants from the targeted nations posed a high risk of becoming a “public charge” reliant on government assistance.

The suspension affected thousands of applicants across Latin America, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans—including Brazil, Colombia, Pakistan, and Albania.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by immigrant advocacy organizations, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, alongside U.S. citizens sponsoring family members. Under the court order, all visa refusals issued under the suspended policy are set aside, and consular officers are required to reconsider affected applications under standard federal immigration law.