It is taking USCIS up to 8 and a half months to adjudicate H4 extension and H4 EAD applications, and delays affect job and health insurance prospects, the suit says.
As the fate on H-4 EAD hangs in the balance, immigration lawyers have been frustrated by unexplained delays in H4 visa extensions and H-4 EAD approvals.
Now a law firm has filed a lawsuit against the US Citizenship and Immigration Services challenging the delays.
The suit was filed by the Houston-based immigration law firm Reddy and Neumann P.C. on Thursday, June 6, 2019, on behalf of four of its clients.
“We expect a response from the USCIS within 60 days,” lawyer Rahul Reddy, a partner at the firm, told the American Bazaar. “Usually, since this is not a policy based case they will adjudicate the H-4 and request us to drop the case. Since our clients just want the
approvals we may drop the case after the approval.”
He explained the reasons for mounting the legal challenge.
“Reddy & Neumann, P.C. is representing four spouses who have had enough of waiting for their H-4 and EAD renewals,” Reddy said. “We sued U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Acting Director Koumas for unlawfully delaying applications for H-4 extensions of stay and accompanying H-4 EADs for spouses of high-skilled immigrants who are waiting in line for permanent residence.”
Reddy said it takes USCIS adjudicators an average of merely 24 minutes to process Form I-539 and 12 minutes to process Form I-765. “[Yet] it takes USCIS up to 8 and a half months to adjudicate these applications according to current processing times,” he said. “To avoid this delay, the spouses filed their requests for renewals using the governments ‘premium processing’ service as part of the H-1B holder’s renewal. The H-1B extensions have been granted, but the H-4s continue to wait, losing out on jobs, health insurance, and drivers licenses because they did not receive their EADs timely.”
The law firm seeks to force the USCIS through litigation to adjudicate these renewals in a reasonable time as required by the Administrative Procedures Act. The co-plaintiffs are represented by Attorney Steven Brown and Counsel for Litigation Jonathan D. Wasden of Reddy & Neumann, P.C.
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