US judge strikes down immigrant visa pause that covered St Kitts and Nevis and 11 other Caribbean states
Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled the State Department’s indefinite suspension for nationals of 75 countries was “contrary to law”, a decision welcomed by immigration advocates.
NEW YORK, United States. A US federal court has struck down the Trump administration’s indefinite suspension of immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, including St Kitts and Nevis and 11 other Caribbean nations.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York ruled on Friday 21 August in favour of the plaintiffs in CLINIC v. Rubio, finding that the policy was “contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority”.
Caribbean countries affected
The State Department paused immigrant visa issuance from 21 January 2026 for nationals of countries including Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
At the time, the department said no immigrant visas had been revoked and that the pause applied only to immigrant visa applicants. Tourist visas, which are non-immigrant visas, were not affected.
In February the State Department said President Trump had made clear that “immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans”.
The ruling
Judge Vargas found that Secretary of State Marco Rubio exceeded his power with a policy that “runs afoul” of the Immigration and Nationality Act, saying Congress gave consular officers authority to decide eligibility based on detailed criteria.
“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,” she wrote.
Advocates react
Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, said the court had restored a process in which visas are issued case by case, “not decided by nationality”.
“This ruling means that a mother in Brooklyn can go back to planning for being reunited with a daughter that she has been waiting years to hold,” he said.
He said the administration had cited “public charge” concerns and expanded the definition to include any public benefit used, although most visa applicants are not eligible for cash welfare.
Anna Gallagher, executive director of CLINIC, one of the plaintiffs, said the case was “about keeping families together”.
Diana Konate of African Communities Together, another plaintiff, called the ruling “a tremendous victory for the rule of law”.
