USCIS Class Action, Settlement Notices and Agreements

This notice is to inform you of a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, against Ur M. Jaddou, Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Terri Robinson, Director of the National Benefits Center, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (the “Government”).

On July 20, 2021, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Oakland Division, granted final approval of the settlement agreement in the case of Vangala et al. v. USCIS et al., No. 4:20-cv08143(N.D. Cal.). The agreement affects certain individuals who had their Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status, or Form I-918 Supplement A, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of U-1 Recipient, rejected due to the “No Blank Space” rejection policy.

Pursuant to a court order, USCIS extended the flexibilities for certain foreign students affected by delayed receipt notices for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. These flexibilities have been extended to include applications received on or after Oct. 1, 2020, through Oct. 31, 2021, inclusive. Applicants can file Form I-765 up to 120 days before the program end date if the application is received by Oct. 31, 2021.

On Aug. 2, 2019, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in the case of J.O.P. v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, et. al., Civil Action 8:19-cv-01944, issued a temporary restraining order enjoining U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from applying the May 31, 2019, unaccompanied alien children (UAC) memorandum, “Updated Procedures for Asylum Applications Filed by Unaccompanied Alien Children.”

You are hereby notified that a hearing (the “Fairness Hearing”) has been scheduled for November 4, 2020 at 9:00 AM before the Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, for consideration of a proposed settlement of the claims that have been brought on your behalf in this lawsuit.

NOTE: The ABT settlement agreement has expired. As of Aug. 25, 2020, USCIS does not accept ABT Claim Forms.

This webpage is intended to notify you of the final class action settlement in J.L. v. Cuccinelli, 18-CV-4914 (N.D. Cal.). For more details, you may access the final settlement agreement (PDF, 2.03 MB).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK   NOTICE TO THE CLASS IN R.F.M., et al., v. Nielsen, et al., 18-cv-5068