The Legal Aid Society, on behalf of individual plaintiffs and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), filed this lawsuit against Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the United States Department of State (DOS) to challenge DOS’s pause of immigration visa processing for nationals of 75 countries. The pause, which went into effect January 21, 2026, unlawfully halts immigration visa processing on the basis that applicants are likely to become a public charge, or primarily dependent on US public benefits.

This pause is grounded in the Trump Administration’s expansive definition of public charge; while public charge designation has historically been reserved only for immigrants receiving cash assistance or government-funded long-term institutional care, the Administration has sought to expand the definition of public charge to apply to immigrants in receipt of any public benefit, including SNAP, Medicaid, and housing benefits. Attempts by DOS to expand the definition of public charge illegally exceed the agency’s statutory authority, overriding the well-settled meaning of the term as ratified by Congress. The pause on visa processing is similarly unlawful, violating not only the Administrative Procedures Act, but the Fifth Amendment of United States Constitution.

In a major victory for families, fairness, and the rule of law, a federal court in New York struck down the Trump administration’s blanket, nationality-based “public charge” ban on immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries. The court held that the ban exceeds the Secretary of State’s statutory and regulatory authority and violates Section 1152(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965’s prohibition on nationality-based discrimination in issuing a visa. In its decision, the court also vacated and set aside any visa denial based solely on the ban and ordered the State Department to restore lawful, case-by-case evaluation of visa applications.