On January 21, the Trump administration quietly froze immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries — a move that instantly threw thousands of families, workers, and employers into uncertainty.
Just weeks later, civil rights organizations and affected U.S. citizens who were separated from their family members have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the visa ban.
The government has described the pause on immigrant visa issuance as a temporary measure tied to concerns about immigrants becoming a “public charge.” But the new lawsuit argues that the freeze applies broadly, without individualized review, and affects people who have already spent years navigating the legal immigration system — including spouses of U.S. citizens and highly skilled workers with approved petitions.
Affected families argue the administration overstepped its authority by effectively imposing a nationality-based restriction without going through required legal procedures. Immigration law, they note, is supposed to evaluate applicants’ case by case — not block entire countries at once.
The human impact is already clear. The temporary suspension of immigrant visas has torn families apart and led to job loss. One affected plaintiff—a physician approved for an employment-based visa because of extraordinary ability—cannot move forward with his employment solely because his country appears on the travel ban.
The plaintiffs are seeking a nationwide court order to stop the government from enforcing the visa ban and immigrant visa freeze.
For now, the visa freeze remains in place until a federal judge takes action.
The Law Offices of Jacob Sapochnick is carefully monitoring the impact of this lawsuit and any related policy changes at the State Department. We will provide further information as it becomes available.
For more information about the visa ban, please click here.
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