• A US federal judge has struck down the immigrant visa suspension affecting Ghana and 25 other African countries.

• The court ruled that the policy exceeded the Secretary of State’s authority and was unlawful.

• The ruling could allow affected immigrant visa processing to resume, but applicants must still meet all US immigration and visa requirements.

A US federal judge has struck down a Trump administration policy that suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, including Ghana and 25 other African countries.

The ruling was delivered on Friday, August 21, by US District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York, who found that the policy exceeded the statutory authority of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was unlawful.

The policy, introduced by the US State Department and effective from January 21, 2026, had paused the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of the affected countries. The department said the measure was part of a review of visa screening and was aimed at addressing concerns that immigrants from the listed countries could become reliant on public benefits in the US.

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The other African countries were:

• Algeria

• Cameroon

• Cape Verde

• Côte d’Ivoire

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Egypt

• Eritrea

• Ethiopia

• The Gambia

• Guinea

• Liberia

• Libya

• Morocco

• Nigeria

• Republic of the Congo

• Rwanda

• Senegal

• Sierra Leone

• Somalia

• South Sudan

• Sudan

• Tanzania

• Togo

• Tunisia

• Uganda

The US State Department’s original notice confirms Ghana and the other countries as being subject to the January 21 suspension of immigrant visa issuance.

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Judge Vargas ruled that the policy unlawfully restricted immigrant visa decisions based on an applicant’s nationality.

According to reports on the ruling, the judge found that the policy was “patently unlawful” and exceeded Secretary Rubio’s authority under US immigration law. She noted that the law places responsibility for determining whether an individual qualifies for an immigrant visa with consular officers rather than allowing a blanket nationality-based prohibition.

The case was brought by immigrant-rights organisations, affected visa applicants and US citizens sponsoring relatives from some of the countries covered by the policy

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The ruling is significant for Ghanaians who were affected by the immigrant visa suspension, particularly people seeking to move permanently to the US through family-based or employment-based immigration.

However, the ruling does not mean every Ghanaian visa restriction has disappeared or that anyone seeking to travel to the US is automatically eligible for a visa.

The case specifically concerns the policy that paused immigrant visa issuance to nationals of the 75 countries. Applicants will still have to meet the applicable US immigration and visa requirements

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It is also important not to confuse the 75-country policy with separate US visa restrictions that took effect under a presidential proclamation on January 1, 2026. That separate measure imposed full or partial visa suspensions on nationals of 39 countries, with some exceptions, and Ghana was not included in that 39-country list

Ghana was among 26 African countries affected by the January immigrant visa suspension. Judge Vargas has now struck down that blanket policy, arguing that the Secretary of State exceeded his legal authority by restricting immigrant visas based on nationality.