AP
May 26, 2015
A
new lawsuit alleges federal immigration officials routinely delay
issuing employment authorization documents to eligible immigrants and
fail to issue interim documents,
thwarting their ability to work legally.
According
to the suit, immigrants who are renewing their work authorization are
also at risk: They can lose their jobs, benefits and, in some states,
their driver's licenses.
As a result, immigrants can't support themselves and their families
while their immigration applications are pending.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. It seeks class action status.
Work permits are typically issued to people eligible for asylum, green cards and other types of visas and immigration statuses.
U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services is required to decide most
employment authorization applications within 90 days. Initial
applications based on pending asylum
claims must be reviewed within 30 days.
In case of delays, the USCIS is required to issue an interim work authorization document, valid for up to 240 days.
But the lawsuit says the agency has stopped issuing interim documents despite routine delays.
Marvella
Arcos-Perez from Washington state, an asylum applicant and one of the
plaintiffs in the suit, has waited for her work authorization renewal
since early January.
According to the suit, Arcos-Perez is a widow who supports a daughter
with disabilities through a job at a mattress company, but could lose
the job without authorization to work.
Another
plaintiff, Carmen Osorio-Ballesteros from Illinois, has waited for her
work authorization since December. Osorio-Ballesteros was previously
approved for the federal
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gives young
people brought into the U.S. illegally as children temporary legal
status and a two-year work permit. According to the suit, she applied as
required to renew that status, but the work permit
has yet to arrive.
A mother of three U.S. citizen children, Osorio-Ballesteros lost her full-time job when her work authorization expired in April.
The USCIS declined to comment because the issue is under active litigation.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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