*****Final Briefs in Class Certification *****

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Court Certifies Class Action for Immigrants Denied ‘Green Cards’

14 Oct 2004


Court Certifies Class Action for Immigrants Denied ‘Green Cards’
Delays Keep Lawful Permanent Residents from Work, School, Family




SAN FRANCISCO, October 14, 2004 – In a lawsuit seeking to protect the rights of thousands of immigrants nationwide, Cooley Godward LLP and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law of Texas (Texas Lawyers' Committee) won a significant victory against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel granted nationwide class certification to the suit, recognizing that all of the plaintiffs had been granted the status of lawful permanent resident by Immigration Judges or by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Class certification allows the case to proceed on a nationwide basis, on behalf of thousands of lawful permanent residents (LPRs) denied proof of their lawful status, or "green cards."

John C. Dwyer, a partner at Cooley Godward, which is handling the suit on a pro bono basis, applauded the ruling. “The court's ruling today is an important first step toward forcing DHS to honor the rights granted to lawful permanent residents,” said Mr. Dwyer. “As a class action, any court order that restores the rights of the named plaintiffs will restore the rights of lawful permanent residents nationwide.”

The lawsuit, Santillan et al. v. Ashcroft et al., was filed in the United States District Court in San Francisco in July 2004. The class action suit charges that DHS offices nationwide are consistently rejecting and delaying lawful permanent residents’ requests for documentation of their LPR status. Green card delays, which have lasted for months and greater than a year in some cases, have created serious hardships for immigrants and their families. Plaintiffs in the case have lost jobs, have not been able to secure jobs, have not been able to enroll in school, and have been prohibited from visiting sick and dying relatives abroad.

“The goal of this lawsuit is for lawful permanent residents to be allowed to support their families, get an education, and enjoy the freedoms that our Constitution guarantees,” said Javier N. Maldonado, Executive Director of the Texas Lawyers' Committee. "These immigrants have complied with all the requirements for obtaining legal residency, including background checks and the review of a federal immigration judge."

In the next stages of the lawsuit, the federal court must decide whether DHS’ policies and practices are unlawful and if so, order the agency to issue temporary documentation to the plaintiffs and class members. The lawsuit seeks relief for all persons who were or will be granted LPR status in U.S. immigration courts.

The pubic interest partnership of Cooley Godward's Pro Bono practice and the non-profit Texas Lawyers' Committee has been facilitated by the Litigation Assistance Partnership Project (LAPP) of the American Bar Association (ABA).

Profiles of several of the plaintiffs in the case follow. You can receive a full copy of the class certification order by going to www.cooley.com/LPR or www.txlawyerscommittee.org.

Flora R. of Merced, CA, a native of Mexico, has lived in the U.S. for almost 20 years.In May 2003, she was granted LPR status on the basis that she and her mother were victims of abuse by her father.To date, over 16 months later, Flora R. still has not received proof of that status.Flora R. lost her job with a major retail chain, where she was about to be promoted, because she could not prove she was authorized to work.

Anita L. of Bronx, NY is a native of Nigeria who has resided continuously in the U.S. since 1988.Anita L. was granted LPR status in July 2003 because her removal would have caused hardship to her two U.S. citizen children.Without her green card, she was denied a social security card, could not get her driver's license, and could visit relatives she had not seen in sixteen years.After the filing of this lawsuit and more than sixteen (16) months since she was granted LPR status, Anita L. received evidence of her legal status.

Marcos S. of Covina, CA, a native of Honduras, was granted LPR status in December 2003 on the basis that he was an orphan in need of long-term foster care.Because he did not receive proof of status, Marcos S. could not enroll in a community college to obtain his high school diploma, nor could he work to support himself.In Sep. 2004, Marcos S. received his green card and can now pursue his educational goals.

Ziber I. of Wisconsin Rapids, WI is a native of Macedonia.Ziber I. was granted LPR status on the basis of his marriage to a U.S. citizen.Ziber I. was not allowed to travel to Macedonia to see his ten-year-old daughter and his mother, who is elderly and very ill.After over a year and since the filing of this lawsuit, Ziber I. received proof of legal resident status allowing him to visit his family and re-enter the United States lawfully.

Zoila L. of Miami, FL, a native of Guatemala, was granted LPR status in October 2003 under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act.Because she did not receive any documentation of her LPR status, Zoila L. could not renew her driver’s license which she needed to drive to work, take her children to school and attend English classes.After the filing of this lawsuit, and nine (9) months after being granted her LPR status, Zoila received her proof of status and is now in a better position able to take care of her family.

Angela D. of Elgin, IL was born in Mexico.She was granted LPR status in September 2003 based on her marriage to a U.S. Citizen.Angela D. twice went to DHS offices to request a temporary stamp on her passport evidencing registration as a LPR, but she was turned away.Angela D. could not travel to Mexico to see her grandfather and her aunt who are both very ill.After the filing of this lawsuit, in August 2004 Angela D. was granted evidence of LPR status, allowing her to visit her family and re-enter the United States lawfully.



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About Cooley Godward LLP

Nationally recognized for our successful work in complex commercial litigation and pioneering business transactional services, Cooley Godward is a leading national law firm with an award-winning Pro Bono practice. Last year, more than 300 Cooley attorneys contributed over 28,000 hours to non-profit organizations, disadvantaged communities and low-income families. For more information about Cooley Godward’s Pro Bono practice, visit www.cooley.com/probono.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law of Texas (Texas Lawyers' Committee) is a non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to protecting and defending the rights of immigrants and refugees through education, advocacy and litigation. For more information, visit www.txlawyerscommittee.org.

The Litigation Assistance Partnership Project (LAPP) is a program of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Litigation that links the pro bono resources of private firms with legal service and public interest programs across the country. Please visit www.abanet.org/litigation/lapp/home.html.
 
Does their class include us?

UnitedNations,

At the end of the document ,
-------------------------------------------------------------
.....
CONCLUSION
......
"The class consists of all persons who were or will be granted lawful permanent resident status by the EOIR, through ......"
--------------------------------------------------------------


my question is -

Does this include us?

If it does, and hopefully we get certified in Rajiv's lawsuit,
Can we be part of two class action lawsuits?

Or else do we use their case as a precedence?
 
The Santillan case has NOTHING to do with employment-based applicants, folks. We are the only class action lawsuit for EB applicants in this country as far as I know.


Here is a copy of my email to the reporter.


>>Thanks Bob. I have reviewed all the court documents we might need for our own class certification (ImmigrationPortal.Com v. Ridge). Our action has been filed only on behalf of employment-based applicants. I wanted to see what sort of arguments the govt. had made to oppose class certification in Santillan.

The court is right now considering our class certification. It looks like there are too many differences in these two cases. So, we may not need to submit the Santillan docs in our case.

Thanks a million. Regards. Rajiv.<<<
 
The point is that other service centers should also speed up the processing like CSC? That was the entire purpose of this lawsuit. Why give benefit only to a select few?
 
check this out; posted on Murthy.com

Travel Possibly Limited for I-551 Stamp Holders
Posted Oct 15, 2004

Our attorneys attending the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National Conference in Chicago have just called us on October 15, 2004, to report that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to phase out the temporary I-551 stamps as early as October 26, 2004. The I-551 stamps are temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status. They are issued for use as proof of this status before the actual plastic green card arrives after the application for permanent residence has been approved. The stamps are valid for work and travel and function as a green card until the physical card can be produced and mailed to the recipient.

Few details on this matter have been released. At this time it is not clear whether a person who tries to reenter on an I-551 stamp after the stamps are phased out will encounter difficulties in returning. There are many people who regularly travel in and out of the country using the I-551 stamps. It is also unclear what mechanism will document permanent resident status prior to receipt of the actual, physical green card. We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. will continue to provide more information on this important topic for our MurthyDotCom visitors as and when it becomes available.
 
Came across this post in google groups dated Date: 2004-08-23 06:56:50 PST. Nothing useful except that some body thought our lawsuit is the most interesting one :).

First of all, nothing below should be taken as a legal advice.

If you are a DV-2004 winner, you are doing Adjustement of Status
(a.k.a. AOS, or I-485) then you should be aware of the following
facts:

1) if your case is not processed by September 30th, 2004 then,
as a matter of law, you lose your oportunity to obtain green card.

for details see US CODE:
8 USC 1153 (c)
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/1153.html

and federal register:
22 C.F.R. 42.33
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2001/aprqtr/pdf/22cfr42.33.pdf

2) the USCIS did *lie* in the past regarding security checks. USCIS
did assure I-485 applicants, their Senators, Representatives and
lawyers that security checks are being done when, in fact, nothing
has been done with the application. There is no reason to believe
that USCIS will not lie again this year.

for details of several cases of documented lies by USCIS see:
http://www.cs.uchicago.edu/~stefanko/BCIS/

3) it is possible to bring a lawsuit agains USCIS in federal
district court asking for judicial intervention. This has been
sucessfully done in the past.

for details obtain a PACER account at
http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/
and check-out following cases:
03-CV-6862, 03-CV-6869, 03-CV-4677, 03-CV-1855, 03-CV-6538.

4) there were many *unsuccesful* lawsuits described in 3) brought in
*after* the visa numbers were exhausted or after the deadline of
September 30th passed. The famous ones are Iddir v. INS and
Nyaga v. Ashcroft.

for details see
http://www.immigrationlinks.com/news/AILF Practice Advisory--How to File a Writ of Mandamus.pdf

5) recently USCIS employed unreasonable standards in determining
eligibility for benefits. E.g. there was a case of a person
denied citizenship because of one oyster violation. Again it
is possible to contest such decision in a federal court.

for details see
http://www.termlimits.org/Press/Common_Sense/cs1119.html
and
check out (using PACER) 04-CV-449

6) recently there has been a flurry of lawsuits against USCIS.
Perhaps the most interesting one is the lawsuit regarding
employment based I-485 (which is not that relevant to DV-2004
but still very interesting!)

for details see
http://boards.immigrationportal.com/forumdisplay.php?f=208

Good luck!

Dan
 
I dont think you really meant it that way, but if you say so, make your remarks and comments in a positive manner, dont use negative concoction and blame CSC for doing their jobs right. I just got my LC, so I dont know much pain in waiting for 2nd/3rd stage, but sailing was never as good for CSC either. Constant hard work from Kashmir, rk4gc and many many more (thanks guys!), who worked with their local govt representatives helped push CSC to do a better job. Maybe you should work with your local reps to push your service center to do a better job.

hrithikroshan11 said:
The point is that other service centers should also speed up the processing like CSC? That was the entire purpose of this lawsuit. Why give benefit only to a select few?
 
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GivMeGreen said:
I dont think you really meant it that way, but if you say so, make your remarks and comments in a positive manner, dont use negative concoction and blame CSC for doing their jobs right. I just got my LC, so I dont know much pain in waiting for 2nd/3rd stage, but sailing was never as good for CSC either. Constant hard work from Kashmir, rk4gc and many many more (thanks guys!), who worked with their local govt representatives helped push CSC to do a better job. Maybe you should work with your local reps to push your service center to do a better job.

GiveMeGreen,
I saw your postings defending CSC as if all at different service centers are yelling to slow down CSC. I think you got it wrong.Here nobody is suggesting that CSC should delay their processing speed because all other centers are slow.It makes sense to question the process that lets one service center to approve the cases fast and others not.The point is why not TSC/VSC/NSC process in the same way as CSC does today.
Good for you guys if your local reps helped improve the system.Well ,many of us are doing the same in 'search of green'.
 
The applicants from other service centers (VSC, TSC, NSC) want their applications to be approved with the same pace that the applications are being approved at CSC. That is their complaint. Is that too much to ask for in an un-fair world?
 
GivemeGreen,

The lawsuit has been filed for 485 delays in all service centers not just california. kashmir and other guys have been fighting for delays in all service centers not just california.

please do not be that narrow minded or selfish to exult in the processing speeds in your service center but adopt a don't care attitude for other service centers. it is not good for the lawsuit especially if Mr. Khanna is trying to get a class certification for this lawsuit.
 
Rpan,

Sorry this may sound personal/bickering, but after reading hrithikroshan11's posting on CSC's performance, his most blatant theme is "how in hell can CSC perform so good while others are suffering". I fully understand that we have to be united in our effort behind getting USCIS to perform better but comments from H*R*11, quite frankly, is going to segregrate CSC members. We should use the developments in CSC in the courts to show that the GC process, if followed in a professional manner, can be fixed - and has nothing to do with security checks and all the crap which the USCIS claims to be holding up the processing of GCs.

hrithikroshan11,

Spare me your moral indignation that I am being narrow minded and selfish. Never have you clearly stated, *ever*, that the lawsuit should bring out the fact in the court that CSC has been able to fix its processes and is able to give a better serivce, so why cant others follow. This is definately a good point for Rajiv to argue in the court that things can be done right if USCIS gets rid of its apathy. But if you look at many of your posts (eg:

The focus is on getting GC fast for immigrants in California. It is the home state of a future president who happens to be an immigrant.

Does Vermont, Nebraska or Texas boast of such qualifications?
)

I can hardly see where you are making any valid argument to be used in the courts.


You have your colored glass of what is right and wrong, I have mine, so I will just sign off instead of bickering here- but I do respect and admire Rajiv's efforts with the lawsuit, I am sure the lawsuit has palyed its own important part in getting CSC to work better (along with all the work of CSC members) - lets use that as an example of how things can be bettered, rather than fighting each other.

From a logical standpoint, I think these developments actually help in getting the class certified and the inconsistencies proven (also, class can be certified if there are good number of victims - even if certain pockets of the filers dont have a problem)


rpan said:
GiveMeGreen,
I saw your postings defending CSC as if all at different service centers are yelling to slow down CSC. I think you got it wrong.Here nobody is suggesting that CSC should delay their processing speed because all other centers are slow.It makes sense to question the process that lets one service center to approve the cases fast and others not.The point is why not TSC/VSC/NSC process in the same way as CSC does today.
Good for you guys if your local reps helped improve the system.Well ,many of us are doing the same in 'search of green'.
 
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Givemegreen,

Do you know how to take a joke or do you become grumpy all the time? The following line was meant for humor "The focus is on getting GC fast for immigrants in California. It is the home state of a future president who happens to be an immigrant."

No one is against improved processing in your state. It is just that people from other 51 states also want the same benefit. The process as a whole needs to be improved.

Stop bickering and if you feel "lawsuit and the work of CSC members has already played its part in getting CSC to work better", then please chill out.

Remember, united you stand, divided you fall. End of topic.
 
hrithikroshan and others,
Please don't fight over silly issues in this thread. This forum is being attended by Rajiv and let's keep it in mind. Let's just concentrate on Lawsuit.
 
lets continue to write to newspaper/congressmen/senators

Guys:

While Rajiv is fighting valiantly for us, we should continue to do our part. I wrote the following repsonse to articles in newspapers fron Arkansas and San Fran and got ecouraging replies from the editors (pardon my typos).

"I read your article with interest. Though the plight
of illegal immigrants is well publicised in this
country, nobody is talking about the horrors that the
legal immigrants like me are going through due to the
backlogs in the processing of the "greencards" and
other immigration related issues like visas, work
permits and travel documents.

I am a physician from India, in this country legally
since 1995. I finished my masters, then the residency
training and started working in Bronx, NY taking care
of the poor uninsured minority patients. I have paid
taxes like any other American and havent broken a
single law since the time I have landed in this
wonderful country. Like most of other immigrants I see
myself settling down over here... if DHS/USCIS allows
me to do so.

I have applied for green card since 2001. The way
things are going in New York agencies and in the rest
of the country, I am unlikely to get my green card for
next five years. The whole process of getting a green
card for the legal immigrant used to take one to one
and half years. Now it is taking upto ten years in places
like New York and California. I am sure you are well
aware of all these ramifications of not having a green
card. Not having a green card means that I cannot
change my employer, my wife cannot work, cannot apply
for any reasearch grants, cannot advance my career,
have to pay exorbitant high interest rates for housing
and student loans, cannot travel outside the country.
This list goes on and on. And I have to maintain
continuous employment till I get my green card. If get
laid off before I get my green card, I have to pack my
bags and leave the country immediately. Now which
employer is going to give you job security for ten
years.

If you think I am a aberration, by USCIS own
admission, there are upwards of six million
applications for green card since 2001. And there are
million more applications waiting for labor
certification which is the first step of getting the
green card. Seven million lives and careers of legal
immigrants have been destroyed.

While everybody has been discussing the issue of
illegal immigrants, it is very disheartening to note
that nobody has brought up the plight of legal
immigrants in these country due to the incredible
backlogs. And it seems very bizarre that when the
country cannot even process the paperwork of legal
immigrants in a timely fashion, then what is the point
in discussing about illegal immigrants. Dont get me
wrong, I am not against illegal immigrants. I share
their pain and suffering. My point is that it is
useless to promise something when you know there are
absolutely no mechanisms or resources to fulfill those
promises.

Why this tragedy is being is tolerated in this
country? Your article provides an answer to the above
question. We have no one to speak on our behalf since
it wouldn't be politically correct to do so in times
of war and job losses. For DHS we are security threat
(doesnt matter that some of us have been in this
country for a decade already and gotten advnaced
degrees in fields of science, computers and medicine)
and for politicians we are pawns in the hands of
"Benedict Arnolds" who are supposedly hiring us for
less pay while displacing American workers (despite
the evidence that the pay of H1Bs is at par or higher
than their American counterparts).

The upshot of all this is that the country reputed
for its rich pro-immigrant history is projecting a
image being rabidly anti-immigrant to the rest of the
world. While this will drive all the legal immigrants
away, I dont think it will stop the illegal immigrants
from coming. How this shift in immigration pattern
will affect the US society and the economy, only time
will tell.

Meanwhile what can I do to do the rectify the failure
of imagination yet again in the country? Likely a true
US citizen (though I am decades away from becoming a
US citizen, it doesn't prevent me from acting like
one. My friends say I am delusional. Maybe I am, so
what?) I can only write to individuals like you who I
hope will be more attuned to our plight and suffering
and likewise help us out.

Thank you for reading such a long email"

I got the following responses:

From "Lochhead, Carolyn -- Chron" <CLochhead@sfchronicle.com>

"very interesting and horrible. where do you live? i may be covering
this in future and would like to be able to reach you.

And from
Wesley Brown, Business Editor, Arkansas News Bureau
Stephens Media
w)501-374-0699
c)501-912-4529
fax)501-374-0860
wbrown@arkansasnews.com

"Thank you for you response. I have a good friend who is legal immigrant and I have written about the issue in the past, but I will do further research and think about writing another column on the subject soon."
 
The letter was very well written. Thanks from all of us.

PS The Defendants had filed a nasty reply yesterday and we have filed a polite response today. You guys want to see that?

PS I do not believe in silly nastiness. Strength lies in quiet conviction, not in apoplectic vituperation.
 
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yes, ofcourse we want to see that Rajiv...

please post it when you get the time. thanks. hopefully GOD makes this work for us!!! GOD BLESS!!!
 
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