A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the State Department cannot use President Donald Trump’s travel ban to deny visas to foreign applicants.
The ruling applies to 82 people who were seeking visas but could still be denied entry to the United States when they arrive at airports or airlines are ordered not to pick them up.
The judge said the law Trump based the ban on does not give the State Department the power to deny visas, although people can still be turned away upon arrival.
The lawsuit was filed by people from Afghanistan, Burma, Togo, Somalia and Iran who were successful in the diversity visa program.
The lawyer for the lawsuit, Curtis Morrison, said the ruling is a small step forward, although it does not yet give those people a chance to enter the United States.
Last month, a federal judge in Seattle ruled that Trump’s latest travel ban could not be used to block eligible refugees from entering the United States, a move that was challenged in previous court rulings related to Trump’s refugee ban.
However, a federal appeals court stayed that ruling a few days later.
