The lawsuit [MadKudu Inc., et al. v. USCIS, et al.] that was filed against USCIS in federal court in the Northern District of California was certified as a class action suit. The suit was filed by the American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the law firms Van Der Hout LLP, Joseph & Hall P.C., and Kuck Baxter Immigration LLC—seeking to rein in the unlawful adjudication practice USCIS uses in determining whether a market research analyst job qualifies as a “specialty occupation” in H1B classification. This conversion to class action bears significant important as it will benefit hundreds of US employers and the market research analysts they sought to employ.
In another lawsuit filed by National Association of Manufacturers, US District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order granting the plaintiffs’ motion requiring the defendants to treat visa applicants covered by the injunction no less favorably than any other nonimmigrant visa applicant. This means that if any particular consulate is processing applications for nonimmigrant visas that fall within the scope of the national interest exception of Presidential Proclamation 10052, it must also process applications for individuals covered by the preliminary injunction. Those parties covered by the Court’s injunction must receive treatment from the consulates at least as favorable as any other category of nonimmigrant visa applicant. These are some of the positive rulings that have instilled optimism and hope to many struggling immigrants that Biden administration will introduce more amicable and reasonable policies loosening excessively tougher adjudication standards practiced by USCIS under current administration.
Vijay Bhagwati, Esq.
Founder and Managing Partner
