Litigation

Lawsuit Demands Response to FOIAs Seeking Data About Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Adjudications
With the data sought through the requests, the Council hopes to better understand USCIS’ adjudication of employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions and how the adjudication process has evolved over multiple years. Read More

U.S. Employer Challenges USCIS “Not a Specialty Occupation” H-1B Petition Denial Disregarding Employer’s Evidence of Specific Specialty Degree Requirement
This case is representative of the difficulties employers encounter when new occupations emerge to fill business needs which require at least a bachelor’s degree, but no consensus exists as to the degree requirement. Read More

Standards for Avoiding Deportation Cannot Be Shrouded in Secrecy
We filed a FOIA request seeking statistical information, as well as policies and guidance, regarding Board of Immigration Appeals standards for issuing stays of removal. Because the government failed to respond, we're filing a lawsuit. Read More

More U.S. Businesses Are Challenging USCIS H-1B Petition Denials
In recent years, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been denying H-1B petitions for jobs that the agency previously approved as being in a specialty occupation. This case is representative. Read More

Challenging USCIS “Not a Specialty Occupation” H-1B Petition Denial
The denials of employment-based petitions must end. This suit challenges the policy changes that restrict employers’ lawful use of H-1B workers. Read More

Challenging Credible Fear Interview and Bond Hearing Delays
This case challenges the punitive practice of keeping asylum seekers in custody for weeks or months without access to credible fear interviews or bond hearings and the lack of basic procedural protections—like hearing transcripts and written decisions—in bond hearings, as well as whether asylum seekers must bear the burden of proof in bond proceedings. Read More

FOIA Seeks Information Regarding CBP Responses to Complaints of Officer Abuse
This lawsuit seeks to compel U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to release records relating to CBP’s complaint process and actions taken in response to complaints made to CBP concerning its agents and officers since January 1, 2012. Read More

Demanding Answers from ICE and CBP Regarding Their Aggressive Immigration Enforcement Tactics
The American Immigration Council filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with ICE and CBP on October 13, 2017, seeking data on enforcement actions and outcomes since January 2016. With this data, the Council will be able to assess who is being targeted for removal and what the consequences are of the current enforcement framework. Read More

Uncovering the Government’s Internal Family Separation Policies, Guidance, and Data
This lawsuit seeks to compel government agencies to produce documents regarding family separation policies. Read More

Lawsuit Demands USCIS Comply with FOIA Requests regarding H-1B Adjudications
On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the American Immigration Council filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) challenging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) failure to respond to two FOIA requests asking for records that would explain increased scrutiny and denials of H-1B petitions. Read More
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