Families Divided Amid Lawsuit Against Trump Administration’s Nationwide Visa Restrictions

By Solange Reyner | Monday, 02 February 2026 01:59 PM EST
A coalition of immigration groups and individuals has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its suspension of immigrant visa processing for 75 countries. The suit, submitted Monday to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, contends that the policy constitutes a nationality-based ban on legal immigration and is grounded in an “unsupported and demonstrably false claim” that individuals from those nations are likely to become public charges if admitted.

The State Department’s January directive, effective January 21, has indefinitely halted the issuance of immigrant visas for applicants from 75 predominantly non-European countries, including Brazil, Russia, Iran, and Somalia. The directive cites concerns about future reliance on public benefits.

Nationals from these countries remain eligible to apply and undergo interviews, but the agency has ceased final visa issuance pending a reassessment of its “public charge” criteria.

Critics characterize the policy as one of the most sweeping restrictions on legal immigration in recent history, asserting that it revives and expands past public-charge enforcement practices by applying them at the country level rather than through individualized assessments. This approach, they argue, could expose the administration to significant legal and constitutional challenges.

The plaintiffs assert that the State Department has abandoned its long-standing practice of individualized “public charge” analysis in favor of a broad, nationality-based refusal policy. The complaint seeks both a preliminary and permanent injunction as well as a declaration that the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution.

One plaintiff, a Long Island U.S. citizen, recounted being separated from his wife and young daughter after traveling to Guatemala for his wife’s visa interview. Cesar Andred Aguirre returned to the United States, but his wife, Dania Mariela Escobar, was informed by the consulate that she would not be allowed to return.