26 African Countries Set To Benefit From US Court Ruling on Immigrant Visa Ban
- A US federal judge ruled the Trump administration's immigrant visa suspension, which covered 75 countries, was illegal
- Ghana was among 26 African nations affected by the State Department ban that came into force in January 2026
- The lawsuit was brought by immigrant rights groups Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together
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A United States federal judge has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, including 26 across Africa, finding the measure to be in breach of federal immigration law.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas delivered the ruling on Friday, 22 August 2026, at a court in Manhattan.
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In her judgment, she described the State Department's January suspension as "patently unlawful," concluding that it violated federal immigration statutes, which explicitly limit the Secretary of State's authority over immigrant visa processing carried out by consular officers.
"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," Vargas wrote.
26 African nations on the suspended list
The State Department's ban, which took effect in January, covered a broad sweep of regions including Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, South Asia, the Balkans, and the Caribbean. In Latin America, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay were among the affected nations, while Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia, and Albania also featured on the list.
In Africa, the suspension applied to 26 countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, and Uganda.
The State Department had justified the policy by arguing that nationals from those countries carried a high risk of becoming financially dependent on government resources after arriving in the United States. The department did not respond to requests for comment on the ruling.
Immigrant rights groups brought the case
The legal challenge was filed by immigrant rights organisations Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, acting alongside individual visa applicants and US citizens who had been in the process of sponsoring family members from the affected countries.
Judge Vargas was appointed to the bench by former President Joe Biden.
President Donald Trump has pursued sweeping immigration restrictions since returning to office in January, framing them as essential to national security.
Rights organisations have repeatedly challenged those measures in court, arguing they have violated due process, curtailed free expression, and disproportionately targeted ethnic minorities through what they describe as racially discriminatory enforcement.
The State Department had not issued a formal response to the court's decision at the time of publication.
US expands visa pilot programme to more countries
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the US Department of State had launched a paid expedited visa pilot programme at selected embassies and consulates.
The initiative, officially announced on 22 July 2026, was scheduled to run until 31 December 2026. On 18 August 2026, the programme was expanded to additional countries.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
