On Aug. 21, 2026, a federal judge ruled in CLINIC v. Rubio that the State Department's policy suspending immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries was unlawful, vacating it nationwide. The judgment vacates the policy and any immigrant-visa refusal based solely on it, and sends those cases back to the State Department for reconsideration, without a deadline for completing that work (that remand is now temporarily stayed; see below).
This ruling is separate from the travel-ban proclamations, which remain in force. The government has appealed to the Second Circuit (No. 26-2573). The district court denied a stay on Sept. 25, 2026. On Oct. 19, 2026 a single judge of the Second Circuit temporarily stayed the part of the judgment that vacated individual refusals based solely on the policy and sent them back for reconsideration, while a three-judge panel decides the stay motion; neither the vacatur of the policy itself nor the declaratory judgment was stayed. See our related item on rescheduled immigrant visa appointments for the current posture, and talk to us before making travel or filing decisions based on this ruling.