Group Lawsuit for Iranian Employment-Based Visa Applicants Stuck in AP: Prospectus

LAWSUIT OBJECTIVE:

Our primary objective is accelerating the final adjudications of visa applications for our clients.

Under the instructions of Congress in 8 U.S.C. §1202(b), the State Department must allow immigrant visa applicants, before their interviews, to furnish the necessary information for consular officers to make decisions. However, State Department policy prevents visa applicants from early submission of the DS-5535, Supplemental Questions for Visa Applicants.

In this group lawsuit, we will argue this State Department policy, the DS-5535 Scheme, is contrary to law, and that this policy is responsible for unreasonable, and thus, unlawful, delays that have prejudiced our Iranian visa applicant clients.

To get an idea of what the allegations will look like, check out our lawsuit known as Pars Equality Center v Blinken, filed on January 1, 2024 in the District Court for the Northern District of California.

WHAT PARTICIPATION INCLUDES:

Participants will be named plaintiffs in a group lawsuit filed on March 1, 2024, challenging the legality of the above-described DS-5535 Scheme, and the unreasonable delays it has caused.

Further, if the government Defendants decide to fight back with a motion to dismiss (which is likely), Attorney will continue his representation by opposing that motion to dismiss, and (if required), attending oral arguments on the motion. Recently, several judges across the US have sympathized with immigrant plaintiffs and denied the government’s motions to dismiss, including in a group lawsuit we filed known as Taherian v Blinken. For more information on that, see: Curtis’ blog.

Further, the Attorney, with help from paralegals will provide consular processing support and guidance to named plaintiffs for the remainder of their immigrant visa journeys.

ATTORNEY: 

CURTIS LEE MORRISON

RED EAGLE LAW, L.C.

COURT: 

DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA (Revised Feb. 20, 2024)

DEFENDANTS:

ANTONY J. BLINKEN, in his official capacity as U.S. Secretary of State 

CARSON WU, in his official capacity as Acting Director of the Office of Screening, Analysis and Coordination within the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Visa Services Office.

DEADLINE TO PARTICIPATE: 

extended to February 29, 2024

FILING DATE: 

March 1, 2024

REQUIREMENTS TO PARTICIPATE:

1) Plaintiffs must be Beneficiaries or Derivative Beneficiaries of an employment-based immigration petition approved by USCIS for Beneficiary(s) who later attended immigrant visa interviews and were instructed only afterward to complete and return the DS-5535.

2) The interview must have occurred at least 9 months before we file the complaint - so on June 1, 2023 or before.

FEE TO PARTICIPATE (REVISED FEB. 9, 2024):
 

In response to feedback from the community, we are offering three fee options:

1) $1,250 total fee

The only payment is $1,250, and it all due up front.

2) $1,500 total fee*

The initial payment is $1,000.
A $500 payment is deferred until after visa issuance.

*The $500 deferred payment is only due if visa issued on or before September 1, 2024.

3) $2,000 total fee

The initial payment is $750.
A $1,250 payment is deferred until after visa issuance and entry to the U.S. but can be paid in monthly installments of not less than $100 per month until balance is paid.

If there is no entry into the USA on the employment-based visa at issue, the final payment is waived.

DISCLOSURES:

1) The client understands that there are no guarantees as to the outcome of litigation.

2) The client understands that the government will never disclose when a visa is approved due to attorney’s efforts. If the client’s visa is issued BEFORE the lawsuit is filed, then no fees will be due to attorney. If a visa is issued AFTER the lawsuit is filed, regardless of whether an order has been issued in the lawsuit, attorney fees become due. This includes when visas are issued immediately after filing of the lawsuit as well as when clients must wait longer for visas.
 

3) The client understands that participating in a lawsuit sometimes means public disclosure of private facts. For example, a Google search of the client’s name could bring up a record of the lawsuit on websites such as pacermonitor.com or courtlistener.com.
 

4) There will be multiple participants in the lawsuit, and attorney will need to prioritize the interests of the whole.

5) Attorney does not have professional liability insurance. (California law requires that attorneys who do not have that insurance, disclose that they do not carry that insurance.)
 

6) The client understands that the attorney may have other attorneys and paralegals with Red Eagle Law, L.C. perform work related to the representation. Also, the attorney may include other attorneys who are not with Red Eagle Law, L.C. to aid in the representation.

7) If fewer than ten (10) families sign up to participate by the end of the day on February 29, 2024, the attorney may choose to not move forward with the representation and refund the initial payments by all prospective participants.