A United States District Court in Manhattan has struck down the Donald Trump administration’s policy suspending the processing and issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, including Nigeria.

In a ruling delivered on Friday, U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas described the January directive as unlawful, holding that it exceeded the statutory authority of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The policy, which took effect on January 21, suspended immigrant visa issuance to citizens of the affected countries on the grounds that they posed a high risk of becoming a “public charge” by relying on government assistance in the United States.

In her ruling, Vargas said the policy conflicted with federal immigration law, which limits the Secretary of State’s authority over the consular processing of immigrant visas.

“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.

Nigeria was among the countries affected by the suspension, alongside Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Ethiopia, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran and several others.

The Trump administration had defended the policy as necessary to strengthen immigration screening and prevent immigrants from becoming dependent on U.S. welfare programmes.

A State Department cable to U.S. missions had directed consular officers to refuse applicants whose visas had been authorised for printing but had not yet been printed.

“Applicants from these countries are at a high risk for becoming a public charge and recourse to local, state and federal government resources in the United States,” the cable stated.

The administration had also cited data on welfare dependence among immigrant households, including a figure indicating that about 33.3 per cent of Nigerian immigrant households received some form of public assistance.

The policy reportedly allowed consideration of factors including an applicant’s age, health and previous use of government assistance when assessing eligibility.

However, Judge Vargas rejected the blanket nationality-based suspension, ruling that the executive directive could not override the statutory immigration framework established by Congress.

The lawsuit was filed by immigrant rights organisations, including the Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, as well as U.S. citizens sponsoring family members and visa applicants from affected countries.

The ruling represents a setback for the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown, which has sought to tighten screening, restrict entry and reduce access to public benefits for immigrants.