{"id":23222,"date":"2026-02-03T05:48:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T03:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/us-president-administration-sued-over-pause-in-immigrant-visa-processing\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:34:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:34:03","slug":"us-president-administration-sued-over-pause-in-immigrant-visa-processing","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/us-president-administration-sued-over-pause-in-immigrant-visa-processing\/","title":{"rendered":"US President administration sued over pause in immigrant visa processing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">A group of civil rights organisations this Monday sued the State Department over its recent pause on the processing of immigrant visas for citizens from 75 countries, arguing the policy \u201ceviscerated decades of settled immigration law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan asked a judge to issue a court order blocking the policy, which took effect on January 21.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The complaint asserted that the State Department\u2019s policy is \u201cbased on an unsupported and demonstrably false claim that nationals of the covered countries migrate to the United States (US) to improperly rely on cash welfare and are likely to become \u2018public charges.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The lawsuit was brought by the National Immigration Law Center and other groups on behalf of a wide range of plaintiffs, including US citizens who say they have been separated from family members because of the policy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Another plaintiff is an endocrinologist from Colombia who was approved for an employment-based visa but cannot receive it because Colombia is one of the countries subject to the policy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The pause has impacted applicants from Latin American countries including Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay, Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Albania, South Asian countries Pakistan and Bangladesh, and those from many nations in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The State Department policy does not impact US visitor visas, which have been in the spotlight given the US is hosting the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">A State Department cable outlining the move and seen by\u00a0<i>Reuters<\/i> said the Department was undergoing a \u201cfull review\u201d of all policies, regulations and guidance to ensure \u201cthe highest level of screening and vetting\u201d for all US visa applicants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The cable, sent to US\u00a0missions, said applicants from the 75 impacted countries \u201care at a high risk for becoming a public charge and recourse to local, state and federal government resources in the US.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">&#8211;Reuters&#8211;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15056,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-23222","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan asked a judge to issue a court order blocking the policy","published_date":null,"news_description":"The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan asked a judge to issue a court order blocking the 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