A United States Federal Court has blocked a policy introduced by President Donald Trump that banned immigrant visa processing for Nigerian citizens as well as those of 74 other countries.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas handed down the ruling on Friday in the Southern District of New York.
According to the court, the policy, introduced by the US Department of State in January, was unlawful and went beyond the authority granted to Secretary of State Marco Rubio under federal immigration law.
The policy had stopped the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries.
Recall that the Trump administration had justified the move on concerns that applicants from the affected countries could become dependent on public assistance after entering the United States.
Nigeria was among the African countries placed on the list.
Countries affected aside from Nigeria include Ghana, Cameroon, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Togo and Tunisia.
The list also included countries in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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