San Francisco, California - Nearly 25,000 people denied US visas under ex-president Donald Trump's racist, anti-migrant "Muslim Ban" may now reapply for free.

US District Judge James Donato on Wednesday approved a new agreement seeking to make amends after Trump in 2017 declared a travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, as well as North Korea and Venezuela.

Although President Joe Biden reversed the ban upon taking office, many communities continue to feel the impacts of the unjust denials.

"My family should have had its visas considered more than six years ago, but we’re living in limbo because the State Department refused to make things right," Maral Tabrizi, who took part in the case, said in a press release.

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"My child turned six in February and has never met her grandparents because of these unfair denials. Starting from scratch in the application process would wipe out our savings," she continued.

"With this federal court ruling, we’re making it unmistakable that the harms remain, and that there’s a clear, simple solution that lives up to the best of U.S. values: an efficient, transparent process that gives us the fair chance we were cruelly denied because of who we are."

The Supreme Court allowed the Muslim Ban to take effect in 2017 and ruled in 2018 that Trump was not discriminating against Muslims but rather acting in US national security interests.

Impacted communities have waged years of court battles seeking relief and a fair, transparent process for managing stalled or rejected visa applications.

In 2023, the Biden administration's Justice Department agreed to a settlement and then "abruptly backtracked," Judge Donato wrote in March.

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The final settlement approved Wednesday requires the government to notify eligible individuals of their ability to reapply for a visa without fees and to request priority status for consular interviews.

"Our class action victory was achieved through the relentless and fearless advocacy of community members harmed by the Muslim Ban," said Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area and co-chair of the No Muslim Ban Ever coalition.

"As we move forward to ensure every eligible community member gets their fair chance at travel and family unity, a powerful movement of people in the U.S. and around the world are working to make sure this never happens again."