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Articles Posted in Class Action

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Following a wave of lawsuits from international students whose visas and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records were terminated without prior notice, the Trump administration has suddenly changed its course.

In recent weeks, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun reinstating SEVIS records that were previously terminated, after seemingly recognizing that the government did not go through the appropriate channels to do so.

Over the past month, it is estimated that the State Department and ICE collectively cancelled over 300 F-1 student visas and terminated more than 4,736 SEVIS records primarily due to student encounters with law enforcement, criminal charges that were dismissed, and old misdemeanors pre-dating visa issuance. These SEVIS terminations automatically exposed students to unlawful presence in the United States, and the risk of deportation.

It was further discovered that ICE utilized AI assisted programs to screen the social media posts of F-1 international students and terminated their legal status based on antisemitic activity or alleged support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

In response, students across the country sued the government to preserve their status, leading federal judges to issue a series of emergency orders to stop the government from cancelling visas and SEVIS records.

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student-5473769_1280F-1 International Students at university campuses across the country have been rocked by alarming reports that their visas and SEVIS records have been suddenly terminated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), without any prior notice to the university or the student.

This new wave of SEVIS terminations which began early this month has led to a string of lawsuits filed in federal district court, challenging the legality of the terminations.

School officials became aware of terminated F-1 student records only after conducting checks of the Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) system. The records of those impacted simply state that the visa revocations were due to an immigration status violation.

The following three generic classifications have been provided for the terminations:

  • Termination based on serious adverse foreign policy consequences
  • Student identified in a criminal records check
  • Student identified in criminal check and/or has had their visa revoked

No further details regarding the reason for the terminations have been provided by the government, nor were school officials notified of actions taken.

What is SEVIS?

The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is an online system used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to maintain information on Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified schools, F-1 and M-1 students who come to the United States to begin a program of student.

Designated school officials use SEVIS to issue Forms I-20 to specific nonimmigrants to obtain F or M status while enrolled at the school and to satisfy their legal responsibilities.

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Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this blog post we share with you some recent news regarding a new class action lawsuit that has been filed by 49 plaintiffs against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), seeking relief from the extreme processing delays currently taking place for I-765 applications for employment authorization (EADs) filed by individuals seeking adjustment of status (AOS) in the United States, and for I-765 applications filed by E-2 dependent spouses with USCIS.

Currently, USCIS reports that I-765 work permit applications based on a pending I-485 adjustment of status application are taking between 20 to 21.5 months to process at the California Service Center; while it is taking 9 to 9.5 months to process work permit applications at the National Benefits Center; and 9.5 to 10.5 months to process such applications at the Nebraska Service Center.

The new legal challenge against the government has been mounted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP, Joseph and Hall PC, Kuck Baxter Immigration LLC, and Siskind Susser PC.

The lawsuit seeks to hold the government accountable once and for all for the exorbitant processing times taking place for work permit applications to be adjudicated, especially those at the California Service Center. Under the law, applicants for adjustment of status are afforded the option of applying for temporary employment authorization while their green card applications are pending with USCIS, through what is supposed to be an easy procedure that involves filing a simple I-765 application for employment authorization. In normal circumstances, such employment authorization applications took on average 7 to 9 months to be adjudicated. Since the onset of the pandemic however USCIS has not been able to adjudicate these applications within reasonable timeframes.

Processing times have gotten worse and worse to the point that applicants are receiving their green card interview appointments before even coming close to receiving an approved employment authorization document. This has resulted in applicants being unable to seek employment while waiting for their green card applications to process. This has caused great cause for concern for individuals who have a job offer lined up or who need to work to maintain their households. Further, the American economy is experiencing more and more labor shortages as they struggle to get individuals back to work. The situation at the USCIS level is making it even more difficult for American businesses to find qualified workers.

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