A US court has overturned the suspension of immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries
The ruling covers immigrant visas only, and it does not yet mean issuance has resumed: the government can still appeal.
What happened
A US district court has overturned the State Department decision to suspend the issuance of immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries, Russia included. Reuters reported the ruling.
Judge Jeannette Vargas held that the policy announced by the State Department in January was plainly unlawful and ran against federal immigration law, which expressly withholds from the Secretary of State any authority over the processing of immigrant visas by consular officers.
Which visas this covers
Immigrant visas only. Visitor and other non-immigrant visas, B1/B2 among them, were never within the suspension and are unaffected now.
- Immediate relative categories IR-1, IR-2, IR-3, IR-4, IR-5
- Family preference categories F1, F2, F3, F4
- Employment and investment categories EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4, EB-5
Why it is too early to celebrate
The government can still appeal, so it is premature to treat issuance as resumed. Until there is practice to look at, do not plan timelines around this ruling.
If you hold a B1/B2 visitor visa or are about to apply for one, none of this touches you: that category has been issued throughout, including on applications filed from Indonesia.