Immigration News
Update from AILF Regarding the Visa Bulletin/I-485 Lawsuit
July 10, 2007
The following message was emailed from AILF to the American Immigration Lawyers Association:
"AILF's Legal Action Center thanks AILA members for your unprecedented and enthusiastic response to our plaintiff identification effort. The potential plaintiff questionnaires and material are rolling in from all over the country. We are continuing to review the material your clients have sent.
The response has been so strong that currently we do not need any more potential plaintiffs who submitted an adjustment application for receipt in July, unless the individuals have an unusual situation or especially compelling facts, such as an aging-out child. At this time, we also would like to hear from the "non-filers" -- people who did not and do not plan to submit an adjustment application for receipt in July but would have done so "but for" the DOS and USCIS actions. These individuals will represent a separate class of plaintiffs. And we'd like to hear from more "other worker" adjustment applicants who applied in June, even if they have not yet received a rejection notice. These individuals will represent a separate class as well. They should read the FAQ (at http://www.aila.org/content/fileviewer.aspx?docid=22798&linkid=162984 ), and complete and return to AILF the short form (at http://www.aila.org/content/fileviewer.aspx?docid=22798&linkid=162978 ) and retainer agreement (at http://www.aila.org/content/fileviewer.aspx?docid=22798&linkid=163326 ) at visabulletin@ailf.org.
If the lawsuit is successful (and we fully expect it will be), the court will certify classes, and all people who meet the class descriptions will receive the relief the court orders. The class members will not need to "sign up" with AILF to enjoy those rights.
Regarding "non-filers" - As our July 7 InfoNet update explained, and as we explain in our FAQ, we will include a class of people who would have submitted their adjustment applications for receipt in July, "but for" the government's actions. The government may try to, or the court may want to treat this class differently from the class of people who submitted applications for receipt in July. Our aim is to do the best possible for both groups.
How soon will we file the law suit? Very soon. It is not easy or quick to prepare class action litigation involving numerous people and numerous claims, but we are working quickly because of the urgency of these events for so many people.
Injunction? AILF knows many people want a quick resolution, as do we. A temporary or ill-conceived order might create more chaos and confusion than we saw in late June / early July. And the government presumably would immediately appeal, creating even more confusion about whether applications were being accepted. By contrast, we intend to seek an injunction that will be forward-looking and will not create another crisis situation for AILA members or the government.
June filers - If your client had a priority date that would not have been current until July but sent in their adjustment application to arrive in June: We have heard that some people tried to get a jump on things by sending in their application to arrive in June for July filing. Our understanding is that USCIS will reject these applications because they were filed too early. We may not be able to protect such filers in this lawsuit. You may want to urge such clients to resubmit applications, even if they not have yet received a rejection notice."
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