Lawsuits

C

cinta

Registered Users (C)
A related note from the AILF / Asylum case.
I think this is a precedent case/decision, in the regard that the 140,000 employment-based visas were not allocated in the last years, due to backlogs.

http://www.immigration-law.com/ (Curtesy)

02/13/2004: Judge Orders To Fill Unused Annual Refugee Quota Numbers and Grant 22,000 Asylum Applicants Green Cards

In a landmark decision, a federal judge in St. Paul, Minnesota order the DHS to grant permanent resident status to 22,000 asylum applicants who have already been granted asylums but unable to obtain immigrant status because of the government,s failure to use the annual refugee quota of 10,000. Report indicates that shockingly, the government has failed to use the annual quota since 1994 and there are over 22,000 unused numbers which the government argued unsuable and trashed. The court disagreed! What a remarkable news and admonishment to the abuse of power by the immigration authorities.
Hmm..... Let's see whether there are unused employment-based immigrant quota numbers which the government has trashed considering the terrible backlog and processing delays of I-485 applic.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
AP

Judge orders permanent resident status for 22,000 asylum holders
Steve Karnowski, Associated Press

Published February 13, 2004 IMMI13



A federal judge in St. Paul ordered the government Thursday to grant permanent resident status to nearly 22,000 people nationwide who have been granted asylum in this country but have been forced to wait because of bureaucratic delays.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle also ordered the government to give all asylum holders proper documents showing they are eligible to work.

He said the government had botched its legal obligation to do that, saying its violations were "so widespread, so egregious, and so plainly harmful to asylees as a class as to constitute nothing short of a national embarrassment."

His order came in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 150,000 asylum holders by the American Immigration Law Foundation of Washington, D.C.

"We think it's a very strong opinion and should send a message to the government," said Nadine Wettstein, director of the foundation's Legal Action Center.

Kyle's decision means that nearly 22,000 people who are at the top of the waiting list should get green cards soon, and that a shorter wait for the approximately 130,000 applicants who will remain on the list, Wettstein said.

Under federal law, the government can give permanent resident status to 10,000 refugees per fiscal year. But from 1994 to 2002, the government failed for various reasons to use all the allotted slots, leaving nearly 22,000 applicants stuck on the waiting list. The government claimed that the unused slots expired at the end of each fiscal year.

Kyle disagreed, saying the government is legally obligated to fill those slots.

A Justice Department spokesman in Washington, Charles Miller, said the agency hadn't seen Kyle's decision and would have to review it before deciding its next move.
 
NO

The effect on us and the processing of I-485 applicants? You can say a bit negative if resources are shifted again from H1B or I-140 or I-485 resources to asylees/refugees. But we saw this rotation before.
The fundamental problem exists for all. Money/resources and security checks make it impossible for them to even acknowledge the problem. They may want to hire new people but those people are waiting security clearances, which go for a year! It is a vicious circle.
One thing they do well is the Security checks, at the FRONT and the BACK of EVERY application and the FPs.
The good news about the above lawsuit is that judges like Kyle can set a precedence for justice. It is an immigration victory. Our case is very similar in many respects and that is how it should be viewed.
 
WAKE UP CALL

The asylees whom we support but I think never worked legally like we did in this country are getting justice from a brave judge.

And what he said about the EAD and AP and renewals?? Kiss them goodbuy. We need to use the same argument.

On the work permits issue, the judge said the law clearly requires the
government to issue them to all asylum holders, that it can't require
them to reapply for those documents annually at a cost of $120 as it
now does, and that the permits must remain valid as along as a person
has asylum.

Kyle gave both sides 60 days to negotiate a schedule for complying with
his order, or he'll set the deadlines himself.

___
 
Last edited by a moderator:
US CIS Director's testimony to Congress

Stripped, sreddy88,

Very good points. It is obvious that USCIS has treated us unfavorably for too long. We should use the lawsuit and any upcoming
meetings/discussions for justice for all. From 2001 to today's applicants and the future ones. opportunities like this may not come in a
long time. Be encouraged by the recent decision of another judge in the Asylum appicants' case. We are no less important than these
people.
As recent as a few days ago, USCIS Director does not get it. (from usis web page - testimony)

In the area of customer service, we have:
o Initiated on-line features that allow customers to file and pay for our a number of our commonly
used applications, as well as offering individual case status updates;
o Established the Office of Citizenship to develop and implement public outreach and educational
initiatives that better prepare immigrants for their rights and responsibilities;
o Improved access to information by establishing a toll-free, bilingual National Customer Service
Center help line (800-375-5283); and
o Reduced the lines at a number of offices with the highest customer volume, such as New York,
Miami and Los Angeles.
In the area of backlog reduction, we have:
o Created a Backlog Reduction Team to identify immediate changes to speed up adjudication
processes as well as to revise implementation plans;
o Eliminated the backlog of applications for Certificate of Citizenship on Behalf of an Adopted Child
with a program that proactively provides parents the certificate without application and without
fee.

Noted that the backlog is solved for Adopted Children: WE DO NOT EVEN QUALIFY FOR THAT!

As I said earlier, besides the repetition of EAD and AP and the I-140/I-485 portability AC-21 issues, we need to be asking for a clear
path to Citizenship. This priority date should be from the time the applicant makes the decision for immigrant status...is it from LC
submission?? Only this will truly somewhat remedy the damage..

Wrt the Congress, we should be careful as there are already laws in the books (the ones the lawsuit is based on) as well as the DHS
Act which in various sections states the length of an application and the backlog reduction (Section 458). What happened? Nothing;
things got worse.

Wrt the resources/money, it is true that even if US CIS was awarded with millions of dollars, they lack the infrastructure and mandate
to execute any plan. I have read that even hiring more adjudicators (their union news) has a backlog problem, due to the need for
security clearance; they need to wait for a year.

There is also too much secrecy, no accountability, no transparancy, no public's right to know...

Last edited by cinta on 16th February 2004 at 01:48 PM
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top