Civil rights groups and U.S. citizens have sued the U.S. State Department over a broad suspension of immigrant visa processing that applies to nationals of 75 countries. The complaint, filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, says the policy—implemented Jan. 21—amounts to a nationality-based ban that unlawfully denies families and workers the individualized review required by immigration law.
The freeze covers a wide range of countries, including Afghanistan, Somalia, Brazil, Colombia, Thailand, Russia and Cambodia. The administration has justified the pause by saying it targets nations ‘‘whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates’’ and that the temporary restriction will remain until the U.S. can ‘‘ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.’’ Critics note that the vast majority of countries on the list are majority non-white and located outside Europe.
Plaintiffs include the National Immigration Law Center, Democracy Forward, The Legal Aid Society and other organizations, along with U.S. citizens who say they have been separated from relatives because of the policy. The suit argues the State Department stripped people of longstanding legal protections and has attempted to ‘‘eviscerate decades of settled immigration law.’’ The complaint states that the law has never treated a person as inadmissible solely for having received—or possibly needing—noncash public benefits or private charitable assistance, and that temporary support has historically been part of the integration process.
Efrén Olivares, vice president of litigation at the National Immigration Law Center, told NPR the department, under Secretary Marco Rubio’s direction, failed to follow required regulatory procedures before imposing a blanket pause. ‘‘It’s just inconceivable that every single person from an entire country would pose any sort of risk of becoming what the law calls a ‘public charge,’’’ he said. He urged the government to conduct individualized assessments rather than imposing nationality-based exclusions affecting nearly half the world’s countries.
The complaint highlights individual harms, including a Colombian physician and endocrinologist who completed postdoctoral training at Harvard and was approved for an employment-based ‘‘extraordinary ability’’ visa in January 2025 but was told he is now ineligible because Colombia is on the freeze list.
The filing also cites research showing immigrants tend to use fewer welfare benefits than native-born Americans; a recent study from the Cato Institute found immigrants consumed about 24 percent less in welfare benefits per capita than native-born residents. The lawsuit asks the court to require the State Department to restore visa processing and to follow lawful, individualized procedures rather than imposing sweeping nationality-based restrictions.