Ngwanyia v. Ashcroft: District Court Certifies Nationwide Class in Challenge to INS Delay in Adjudicating Asylee Adjustment Applications

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Asylum, Refugee, and Other
Protected Statuses

NGWANYIA V. ASHCROFT: DISTRICT COURT CERTIFIES NATIONWIDE CLASS IN CHALLENGE TO INS DELAY IN ADJUDICATING ASYLEE ADJUSTMENT APPLICATIONS
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 1, February 21, 2003

A federal district court in Minnesota has certified a nationwide class in a lawsuit alleging delays and mismanagement on the part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the processing and adjudication of applications for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status.

Section 209(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the INS to issue 10,000 immigrant visas per year to asylees. However, according to the class certification decision, the plaintiffs allege that the INS has failed to issue approximately 21,281 asylee immigrant visas that should have been allocated to waiting plaintiffs and class members. They also contend that the INS has violated the regulations by not issuing asylee visas to applicants in the order of their priority dates. The plaintiffs contend that, in part because of mismanagement, there is currently a backlog of more than 96,000 asylee adjustment applicants. The lawsuit also challenges the INS's requirement that asylee adjustment applicants pay a fee to renew their employment authorization documents (EADs) every year, since employment authorization is inherent in asylee status. Other costs resulting from the long delays in asylee adjustment, such as the costs of multiple fingerprinting and medical examinations, are also being challenged.

The court certified a nationwide class of all asylees in the United States who have applied for LPR status and whose applications remain pending. The plaintiffs are represented by the American Immigration Law Foundation, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, and the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney, LLP.

Ngwanyia v. Ashcroft, No. 02-CV-502 RHK/JMM (D.Minn., Jan. 14, 2003).