Green Card lottery ‘winners,’ who had their visas snatched away after a State Department mix up, will file an injunction today to prevent the diversity lottery taking place on July 15th until their case is dealt with.
Eight Irish ‘winners’ led by London based Stuart McBrien, who is leading the effort to force the State Department to recognize their lottery win, are involved in the class action suit.
McBrien, stated : “The injunction is the only fair way to move forward. Without it all the available visas will be allocated by the time our court case is heard – so even if we win, it will be pointless for me and thousands of others. This is the only way that that justice can be done.”
A class action lawsuit was filed against the State Department on June 16, 2011 seeking to reinstate a commitment first made, then broken, to 22,000 would-be immigrants to the United States who were originally told they had won the lottery but were later told that due to a computer glitch they had not.
The blunder, already admitted by the State Department, saw 22,000 individuals who were proceeding down a legal route to immigrate to the United States, have their applications cancelled.
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READ MORE:
Eight Irish see hopes dashed of Green Cards they thought they had won
Irishman sues State Department over diversity lottery glitch
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The injunction request to stop the lottery will be filed in support of the class action lawsuit, being brought against the State Department, with respect to its handling of the 2012 green card lottery.
Attorney Kenneth White of White and Associates says of the injunction – “This is a necessary and meaningful step, in which we seek to dramatically accelerate the hearing of our arguments in court. It deals with State Department plans to hold a second lottery on July 15. We need to ensure that the interests of the class of 22,000 are protected going forward and this accelerated hearing will preserve the possibility of justice being done.”
Advocates for the 22,000 believe that the State Department will bury their case as soon as the new lottery takes place..
To prevent this, a request for a preliminary injunction will be filed, which petitions the court to weigh two potential outcomes to preserve the plaintiffs’ interests: 1) allow the July 15 drawing to proceed, only with safeguards to protect the plaintiffs’ rank order; or 2) reinstate the original results for all selectees.
The goal of this request is to immediately re-commence the processing of visa and adjustment of status applications for those who have already been recognized and selected in the Lottery.
6 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.antoman | Jun 28, 2011, 05:41 PM EDT
@joycean-The Dream Act? LOL!! Some might say that to realise the American dream,one has to be asleep :)
joycean | Jun 28, 2011, 05:06 PM EDT
antoman, the Dream Act has aprovision for citizenship through military service, but it hasn't passed. It's mainly aimed at illegals who have grown up in the US. The Us began immigration quotas in the 1930's.Nativists didn't like the way the country was getting too many foreigners.
antoman | Jun 28, 2011, 04:41 PM EDT
@Irishcoffeekid-Fair enough.I would think after a few years in the US military one would be a welcome citizen of America.Particularly if you are Irish.Its not like our secret service wants to infilitrate America by putting a man or woman in their military.We already have a weapon of mass destruction.Its called Guinness.
irishcoffeekid | Jun 28, 2011, 02:17 PM EDT
you have to be a permanent resident first and serve in the military for at least a year before you are even considered. You cannot simply join the military and then look to become a citizen
longislander1940 | Jun 28, 2011, 10:34 AM EDT
my cousins are waiting for over 10 years for a green card . they have finances to support themselves and their children, no criminal record, and everyone is in great health. Whats the problem in getting a green card, are they all going to different 3rd world countries?
antoman | Jun 28, 2011, 08:45 AM EDT
Is there a means whereby if you join the US military you are granted citizenship?I ask this because at the start of the Gulf war back in the 90's I wrote to the US embassey up in Dublin asking if I could join their military.I got a cordial reply basically saying no.Not that I was uber patriotic just young full of beans and seeking adventure.