USCIS's illegal actions - Attention all Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua immigrants

[wazzujoel 84]

If you are from one of these countries and you arrived to the US on Humanitarian Parole then you should know by now that ALL applications/petitions that you submitted have been put on "indefinite hold" by USCIS. This means that if you submitted a Work Authorization, or an Adjustment of status because you married a USC, or any other application, USCIS agents have been directed to not process these applications. The money you paid, and the petition you submitted will just sit there and never be processed until either Trump allows it, or perhaps courts put a stop to this illegal practice. You might even need to wait until a Democrat is elected president again such that they can provide justice for the immigrants that are here legally that trump is attacking. I contacted my congressman and he confirmed to me that it is true that USCIS is not processing any application submitted for an individual that came from these 5 countries. 

 

I have come across a immigration lawyer whom is working on a class action lawsuit against USCIS for these illegal actions. The lawyers name is Jim Hacking III. To be included in this lawsuit send a request to info@hackinglawpractice.com. I found this class action lawsuit by watching his youtube channel on immigration (episode below and the relevant information starts around the 3 minute mark. 

 

 

 

 

[Boiler 46,489]

I like Jim, he has some cracking shows, the same sort of cases that used to be on here back in the day.

 

But he does tend to get over excited.

[Ontarkie 14,682]

~~Moved to General Immigration Discussion, from IR1/CR1 P&P~~

[Lemonslice 5,041]

Thanks for adding details to our prior discussion.  How many family members of yours are stuck now @wazzujoel?

[wazzujoel 84]

Appreciate moving this thread to an appropriate location on the site. I wasn't sure where something like this fit in. 

 

On 3/4/2025 at 11:54 PM, Lemonslice said:

Thanks for adding details to our prior discussion.  How many family members of yours are stuck now @wazzujoel?

 

I competed 5 residency applications based on Cuban Adjustment Act. Two were approved and the other three are in limbo. 

 

Apr 12, 2024   - My fiancée - Pending  

May 20, 2024 - Friend - Approved 09/11/2024

Jun 3, 2024 - Fiancée's mother - Pending 

Jun 3, 2024 - Fiancée's brother - Pending 

Jun 3, 2024 - Fiancée's stepdad - Approved 09/16/2024

 

All five of these I-485's were completed exactly the same by me, with the only difference being biographic data. i-485 via Cuban Adjustment Act is very straight forward as they are not subject to public discharge and the only requirements are i-693 medical, either Cuban passport or Cuban Birth certificate, and i-94 proving continual presence in the USA for 1 year + 1 day. 

 

Also, I have filed for a I-765 Work Authorization EAD renewal based on C(09) "pending i-485". This was an additional $260 payment to USCIS since the $1,440 residency application is still pending. My mother-in-law works full time overnights at Walmart, loves her jobs, pays taxes, has a 401k through Walmart that she contributes to... Since Trump has directed USCIS to not process any applications for applicants that arrived via Humanitarian Parole, she will lose her job on May 15th. My congressman is aware that Trump and USCIS has put legal immigrants, such as my family, on "indefinite holds" and will no longer process their applications. Hopefully, the courts get involved soon and put a stop to this before Trump forces them (and many other legal immigrants in their situation) to insolvency. I've already reached out to public assistance in our county and they confirmed that if they lose their jobs and ability to work due to USCIS than they will qualify for Medicaid, SNAP, cash assistance, rent subsides, and other forms of public welfare while they await for USCIS to process their applications. This is the last thing they want.... They love working, and their employer loves them too since they are hard honest workers. 

 

There is also rumors that Trump is planning on ending the Humanitarian Parole early. What this would do is it would move up the dates of when she is no longer allowed to work. Their current EADs (that they paid for) were based on Humanitarian Parole, so if he prematurely ends it, then it also ends their EAD early. I have received confirmation that if their parole period ends without a decision on their residency application, then they will be in a "protected stay" status here, where they are allowed to stay in the USA and cannot be deported until a decision is made on their i-485. And this could be for the entire length of Trumps presidency or maybe even longer. They will be living off the government this at this time, but that's what Trump wants as it pushes his narrative that immigrants are just trying to take advantage of the American people. Their residency will eventually be approved as it's based on a 1966 US law (Cuban Adjustment Act) and they have met all conditions for residency... There isn't any room for interpretation. 

Edited March 7 by wazzujoel

[TBoneTX 46,537]

9 hours ago, wazzujoel said:

My congressman is aware

Brother, lean on your Congressman, and on your senior U.S. Senator, too.  There's little that you can do on your own, and relying on your elected officials may help to alleviate some of your stress, which is surely considerable.

[wazzujoel 84]

Update - 

 

Not much is changed. My congressman and Senators are just repeating the same generic USCIS responses about some cases taking longer than others and they are committed to processing the case. I do believe they are contacting USCIS on our behalf, however I think that the weight of a Congressman doesn't mean anything to USCIS. We are still waiting for approvals for either residency or ead renewals. Hopefully the ead renewal based on pending i-485 (C09) gets processed at least so my in-laws don't lose their jobs. Under Biden their first EAD was approved in 30 days, however this renewal has been sitting for 2 months already. Perhaps I will try and expediate the EAD when her current EAD is 30 days from expiring. Without that EAD renewal my MIL will need to go on public assistance. 

 

I personally found it really concerning that Trump enacted the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport immigrants without needing the courts. Most reasonable people would probably tell me not to worry about that because he only did that to get immigrant gang members out of the country, however it feels more sinister to me then that. Trump has been very vocal about how Biden should have never allowed Humanitarian Parole for the countries listed in this subject. He's even said that it was 'illegal' that this happened and has said lots of rhetoric about how he needs to get these people out. Although, nothing my family has done was illegal, I can't help but feel that Trump is coming after them and they are just going to be collateral damage on his war against immigrants. I have even read a few articles recently where ICE was talking about Trump not being happy with their deportation numbers and the thing that Trump doesn't understand is it's really difficult to catch criminals who are immigrants because they don't document where they are staying and lay low because they are doing criminal acts and don't want to be caught... Much easier for ICE to catch and deport people who are following the rules because they document where they are, and ICE has all the information on their visa/visit status and where to get them when it expires. The ICE agent in the article said something like Trump doesn't understand it takes 10 times the agent to catch an actual criminal than it does to pick up an immigrant on a administrative issue and then deport them. Anyways, my concern now is that when my partners 2 year humanitarian parole window expires, then ICE shows up at my door to deport her even though she has a pending residency. Am I being ridiculous? idk, maybe. I can tell you I am not opening any door for an ICE agent, I'll be calling a lawyer and my congressman the moment they step onto my property, and the moment I get them to leave I will be hiding her in a location where ICE can't find her. WILD that this is what I am thinking about. I don't at all feel "protected stay" because of a pending i-485 will keep her from being deported by Trumps illegal invoking of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. 

[Boiler 46,489]

As an Immigrant why do you think it would be really difficult to catch me, as opposed to people who did not immigrate?

 

Just wondering….

[wazzujoel 84]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

As an Immigrant why do you think it would be really difficult to catch me, as opposed to people who did not immigrate?

 

Just wondering….

 

Not sure I understand the question. I will answer in how I interpreted your question and perhaps you can clarify if I missed the mark. What I was saying is there simply-speaking there are two types of non-citizens in this country : 

 

1. Lawful immigrant who is following the US laws and rules. They have properly applied, been approved, and are integrating into society on some lawful path. They have an address that the government knows, work at a place the government knows, pays taxes, and does honest law-abiding things. 

2. illegal immigrant who is doing illegal or criminal things. They didn't follow a valid immigration path, they came into this country illegally, they aren't reporting where they are staying, and they aren't reporting where they are working. Perhaps someone in this group might be a gang member and is selling drugs or doing other criminal things. Or maybe they are a farm worker, that arrived illegally, and works illegally on a local farm where they are paid below minimum wage, don't pay taxes, and keep to themselves and doesn't commit crimes like theft, murder, drug-related, etc. 

 

What I was saying is that for ICE to pick up an immigrant and deport them because of an 'administrative issue' from group 1 is super simple.... They know exactly where they live and work because it's on all their USCIS paperwork, know what the administrative issue is, and now Trump can just quickly deport them without needing the courts by the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. If ICE wants to catch people from group 2, it's much much harder. They don't know where they live, they don't know where they illegally work, they don't know where they sell drugs..... For ICE to catch someone like this, it requires a lot more actual police work and likely cooperation with non-ICE police.  

 

Disclaimer - Although for this response I have categorized people down to two groups, I personally understand things are not that black and white. I certainly don't think everyone who comes into this country illegally is a drug dealer, or thief, or murder. I fully believe there are good people who arrived illegally, and are working illegally, but for whatever reason they didn't go through proper channels to immigrate legally. I don't assume all immigrants that arrive illegally are bad people, but they did break the law and didn't immigrate properly. 

 

[TBoneTX 46,537]

The political nature of this thread warrants its being moved from the US Immigration News forum to the Current Events forum.