The Biden Administration asked that a ruling requiring the federal government to address delays in issuing the special immigration visa (SIV) not be enforced. The SIVs are for some Afghan and Iraqi allies who provided help to the U.S. with translation. The federal government also claims the timeliness requirement to process these SIVs is no longer required as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan.

The request to not enforce the rule was denied. The administration is appealing the order claiming the federal court doesn’t have the official power to enforce it. If that is a valid claim, the ruling is immediately no longer enforceable.

The judge referred the issue to officers of the court who are appointed to address various judicial proceedings. The judge requested these officers develop an updated processing plan and ordered limited efforts to find evidence.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State filed a proposed plan to address case review, just as they argued the district court does not have the legal right to enforce the plan.

The previous processing plan set timing benchmarks for the days required by the government to complete each step in the process. Progress against the goals was to be tracked and explanations provided wherever the benchmarks were not met. This has been in place since 2020. After over a year, the court allowed the tracking to be paused while the government and allies discussed settlement options. However, in May 2022, the government requested the court end the plan, citing updates over the previous two years that made the previously set benchmarks unreasonable. Since leaving Afghanistan and closing the U.S. Embassy there, the volume increased by over 800% for case inquiries. An increase in cases of over 400% was also seen. Adding delays caused by COVID, the previous benchmarks were no longer valid, the federal government claimed.

In response, the judge cited Congress continues to require SIV applications be completed not later than nine months after eligible applicants submit all required information.

If you have questions about the special immigration visa or any other immigration-related issue, contact us anytime at ILBSG. We actively monitor ongoing U.S. immigration policy to ensure our clients get the right advice.

SIV special immigration visa