75-Country Visa Ban Struck Down by A Federal District Court Judge

A federal district court judge in New York has struck down Trump’s and the Department of State’s visa ban for nationals from 75 countries. This is fantastic news. The visa ban was clearly pretextual and deeply discriminatory. The stated rationale of the rule was to conduct additional vetting of all nationals from these countries related to the public charge ground of inadmissibility. This ground prevents an individual from immigrating to the U.S. if they are likely to become a public charge; namely, likely to depend on government benefits to support themselves. The ban was being used to prevent individuals from immigrating to the U.S. who clearly were not at any risk of becoming public charges.

What does this District Court ruling mean for the ban:

While this is great news, this is not necessarily the end of the battle. The government can appeal this decision and continue to try and impose the ban. The Department of State can appeal the decision to the federal appeals court and then even to the U.S. Supreme Court. For now however, we hope the DOS respects this decision, and resumes processing of all immigrant visas.

You can learn more about this decision here.

What is the status of the similar ban against nationals from certain countries applying for adjustment of status in the U.S.

The Trump administration also attempted to put a similar ban on any immigration benefits filed in the U.S. by nationals from certain countries. This ban was also halted by a district court, and now is being evaluated by a federal appeals court.

These bans blatantly violate our existing immigration laws. We hope the federal courts continue to perform their fundamental duty of checking the executive branch (the President) when he violates the law.