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i360-VAWA Priority-Date Retention + Ever-Increasing Processing Times — Class Action?
I’m curious whether other VAWA applicants are seeing the same 2 issues: 1. Retention of an earlier I-130 priority date Many VAWA applicants had an I-130 filed before the I-360 and may qualify to retain that earlier priority date. USCIS previously appeared to recognize earlier priority dates during processing, but I was recently told that the retained priority date would only be addressed once the I-360 is assigned to an adjudicator. With VAWA processing now taking several years, that could mean waiting until near the end of the process before the earlier priority date is even recognized. In my view, that risks destroying much of the protective value of the earlier date and potentially defeats the purpose behind allowing VAWA applicants to retain it in the first place. 2. USCIS keeps moving the processing-time goalpost People filed when VAWA processing times were much shorter. Applicants wait until they approach that timeline, only for USCIS to increase it again. You file thinking it may take 24–30 months. By the time you get there, the processing time is 40+ months. Then 50+ months. If the benchmark keeps increasing faster than applicants can reach it, you are essentially chasing a moving train. Service requests and congressional inquiries also seem to be providing less meaningful relief. In some cases, applicants wait months just to receive a response, only to be told the case is still within the newly increased processing time. At some point, I think this may need to be addressed collectively rather than through thousands of separate mandamus lawsuits. I’m already reaching out to certain immigration advocacy organizations and federal-litigation attorneys to see whether this may be worth evaluating as a class action or broader APA challenge. There are examples where coordinated immigration litigation led DHS/USCIS to change how an entire group of applications was handled. One example is the H-4/L-2 EAD litigation and settlement, where litigation resulted in broader relief for affected spouses rather than requiring everyone to sue separately. I’m wondering whether VAWA applicants may eventually need something similar: one case challenging common USCIS practices rather than thousands of applicants individually paying for mandamus lawsuits. If enough people are dealing with the same issues, especially: VAWA I-360 cases pending 24+ months Applicants with an earlier I-130 priority date Applicants being told the earlier priority date will not be applied until adjudication Applicants whose expected processing time keeps increasing while they wait Then it may be worth organizing and presenting the issue collectively to experienced class-action counsel. I’d especially appreciate comments from immigration attorneys, VAWA practitioners, advocacy organizations, federal litigators, or anyone who has experience with mandamus or immigration class actions. Has anyone else been told that their earlier I-130 priority date will not be retained until the I-360 is assigned to an adjudicator? #i360 #VAWA #processingtime #USCISWANTSTOKILLUS
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