U.S. Court Refuses to Order Reversal of Controversial Green Card Flip Flop

Wall Street Journal

By Sean Mclain

October 8, 2015

U.S. Court Refuses to Order Reversal of Controversial Green Card Flip Flop 

Immigrant families hoping to sue the U.S. State Department for changing its stance on green card applications had a setback on Wednesday.

On Sept. 9, the State Department dramatically increased the number of people allowed to apply for green cards, only to backpedal two weeks later.

A group of applicants who had been waiting for years to apply for permanent residence status and had rushed to gather and translate the documents necessary to apply—and paid expensive lawyers to represent them—are now trying to sue the government.

On Wednesday, a federal judge denied a request to issue an order to reverse the flip flop and force the State Department to let them apply, said Gnanamookan K. Senthurjothi, an immigration attorney based in Chennai in southern India. The next hearing will determine whether to allow a class action lawsuit against the State Department.

Applicants complain that they spent thousands of dollars in legal and medical fees, rushing to get paperwork ready, only to be told they would again have to wait years to apply.

Being invited to submit an application is a big deal for immigrants because having a pending application gives them more freedom. An H-1B visa holder, for example, has to ask for permission to change jobs. A person with a pending green card application can more easily obtain special permission to switch jobs. Those with a pending application can also have their children accepted under their green cards even if the children become adults while they wait for final approval.

No one is quite sure yet how many people were affected by the reversal, but Mr. Senthurjothi says it could be a big number. People wait years to be able to apply for permanent residency in the U.S. Mr. Senthurjothi’s law firm, Murthy Immigration Services, had planned to file 100 green card applications. After the reversal they filed only 25.

“It’s a huge setback,” he said.

Since the 1990s, the wait for a green card for some types of applicants has gone from years to decades as this interactive chart of more than 20 years of State Department data shows.

For more information, go to:  www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com