Adjustment of Status Update
July 11, 2007
AOS Lawsuits to be Filed; Congress May Hold Hearings
We continue to advise that it is advantageous for most eligible applicants to file adjustment of status applications throughout this month. The American Immigration Law Foundation's (AILF) Legal Action Center is preparing to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of three classes of individuals, described below. If the lawsuit is successful, the court will certify the classes and all those who meet the class descriptions will receive the relief ordered by the court. The three classes will be: 1) those who submitted an adjustment of status application for receipt in July; 2) those who would have submitted an application in July but did not "but for" the USCIS and DOS actions; and 3) those who applied for adjustment of status in June under the "other worker" category, whether or not they have yet received a rejection notice. AILF is still looking for potential employment-based plaintiffs who have family members turning 21 years old, or individuals interested in joining the second and third groups. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), our national trade association, confirmed yesterday that the USCIS is likely to "hold" all AOS applications filed in July rather than return all application packages as that agency had announced on July 2, 2007. Predictions are that visa numbers will be unavailable for the remainder of the fiscal year in August and September. AILA also indicated that it is likely that beginning October 1 the dates of available visa numbers should become available for certain limited categories, but at a very slow pace.
We further report that Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Chair of the House of Representatives Immigration Sub-Committee, may hold hearings on this issue. We encourage employers in the San Jose –Silicon Valley district represented by Congresswoman Lofgren to contact her office in support of holding these hearings.
