Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Immigration Delays Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: A class action lawsuit was filed against the US Citizenship and Immigration Services by 18 students trying to extend their study visas through work-based programs
- Why: Due to COVID-19, the USCIS slowed or stopped processing applications for programs, which students in the class action lawsuit say caused them “imminent and irreparable harm” and could have led to loss of legal status with visas going out of date
- Where: The students filed the class action lawsuit in response to delays or stopping of application processing in Arizona and Texas
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has settled a class action lawsuit that stemmed from COVID-19-induced delays on immigration processes filed by 18 students looking to extend their study visas through work-based programs.
The USCIS settlement has resulted in a consent order that will see USCIS get back to adjudicating optional practical training (OPT) and STEM applications in a reasonable timeframe, after failing to do so throughout 2020, The Times of India reports.
Both the OPT and STEM programs are offered to international students on F-1 academic study visas to get work experience after they have graduated. The OPT program is for one year and the STEM program – for those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – provides an extra two year extension.
The students filed the immigration delay USCIS lawsuit in October 2020 after USCIS slowed or stopped processing the applications for the programs that were submitted at lockboxes in Arizona and Texas. The students said in the class action lawsuit that the delays caused them “imminent and irreparable harm” and could have led to loss of legal status with visas going out of date.
Counsel for the students negotiated with the U.S. government over several months to reach the consent.
“Among other provisions, USCIS has agreed to adjudicate option practical training and STEM extension applications within 120 days for those applications filed before October 31, 2021,” said Robert Cohen, partners and chair at the immigration practice group with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, which represented the students.
The consent order says that USCIS must process OPT and STEM extensions filed before October 31, 2021 within 120 days; it must process extensions filed between October 2020 and October 2021 and grant a full a 12 months regardless of when the initial date was; and it must provide monthly reports on cases until October 31, 2021.
This isn’t the first time USCIS has been ordered to speed up immigration processes. In October 2020, the agency was ordered by a Washington federal judge to process petitions from juvenile immigrants who had been abandoned by their parents within 180 days. USCIS was hit with a class action lawsuit over its handling of immigrant applications from those aged 18 to 21 who have been abandoned or abused by their parents.
Has your immigration process been affected by COVID-19 delays? Let us know your experience in the comments section
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
- NYC Illegally Foreclosed on Homes of New Yorkers of Color, Class Action Alleges
- Chobani ‘Fair Trade Certified’ Tricks Consumers Into Paying More, Claims Class Action Lawsuit
- Media Mogul Miles Guo Sold ‘Worthless’ Investments to Immigrants, Claims Class Action Lawsuit
- Detention Center Needs ICE Approval to Pay Detainees More Than $1 a Day, Prison Boss Says
One thought on US Government Settles Class Action Lawsuit Stemming From COVID-19-Related Immigration Delays
Wells fargo opened an account slong with my exwife (at the time we were married) in order to cash my unemployment checks
I filed id theft and submitted everything with the inemployment office eventually i recieved my money but i never recieved compensation from wells fargo actually they gave very little response this was sometime back in 2014b then i followed up in 2018 with a class action that was underway at yhat time but i never got a response on that so basically unemployment has copies of checks and all evidence needed my question is do i still have a case and if not how can i go about making people aware of tjis incident as a precaution to others?