In an opinion and order issued on 21 August 2026, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated the State Department policy that had suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries. Judge Jeannette A. Vargas held in CLINIC v. Rubio (No. 1:26-cv-00858) that the policy is "contrary to law and was issued in excess of Secretary Rubio's statutory authority," and that it violates the Immigration and Nationality Act's prohibition on nationality-based discrimination in visa issuance.
The State Department announced the policy on 14 January 2026, effective 21 January 2026. A cable from Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed consular officers to refuse immigrant visas to nationals of the 75 designated countries — Iran among them — under INA section 221(g), even where the officer had found the applicant otherwise eligible. The stated basis was a high assessed risk of applicants relying on public benefits. The court noted that the policy categorically banned immigrant-visa issuance to nationals of nearly 40 percent of the world's countries.
According to the plaintiffs' counsel, the court also set aside visa refusals that were based solely on the policy, returning cases to individual, case-by-case adjudication. The State Department told the Associated Press it does not comment on pending litigation. The ruling reaches only this policy: Presidential Proclamation 10998, the separate order in force since 1 January 2026 that suspends visa issuance to Iranian nationals across immigrant and nonimmigrant categories, was not part of this case and remains in force.
