A new lawsuit filed on behalf of 12 plaintiffs aims to protect immigrant children from “aging out” of the immigration system when they turn 21 if their parents are H-1B visa holders from India. Dependents of H-1B holders have the ability to remain in dependent H-4 status if their wait for lawful permanent resident status is increased due to per country limits on the number of immigrant visas. However, current per country limits and national origin-specific visa bulletin charts dictate that children from India are subject to decades-long waits, which causes them to lose eligibility to immigrate with their parents when they turn 21.
The complaint in this case alleges that this amounts to disparate treatment in violation of the equal protection and due process clauses of the US Constitution. The plaintiffs plan to seek class certification as a next step in the case, and expect the litigation to be ongoing for many years.
Additional Reading
New Lawsuit Tries to Save Immigrant Children from ‘Aging Out’, Forbes, January 7, 2020
Complaint, Nakka, et al. v. US Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al., filed December 27, 2019
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