Boston Lawsuit Seeks to Halt New USCIS Discretion Rules for Employment-Based Green Cards

A coalition of labor unions, universities and six individual foreign professionals has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts challenging two policy memos that quietly reshaped how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicates employment-based adjustment-of-status (AOS) applications. Filed on October 5 and made public October 7, the complaint argues that the new guidance—issued in May and August—allows officers to treat the very act of applying for a green card inside the United States as a negative factor and to deny cases outright without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). Plaintiffs say the changes upend decades of practice that let long-term H-1B, L-1 and O-1 workers transition to permanent residence without interrupting employment or family life. They warn that companies may be forced to send valued staff abroad for consular processing, risking project delays and payroll complications. The lawsuit claims the memos violate the Administrative Procedure Act and exceed USCIS’s statutory authority by imposing new standards retroactively on pending cases. Among the named plaintiffs are Nigerian STEM analyst Ikechi Nwaozuzu and Colombian healthcare worker Derly Sneit Sierra Palacios, both of whom fear job loss and family separation if required to leave the country mid-process. University groups argue the policy threatens research continuity, citing examples of post-doctoral scientists whose lab grants hinge on uninterrupted work authorization. Legal analysts note that while adjustment of status is discretionary under the Immigration and Nationality Act, courts have repeatedly limited blanket denials absent individualized review. The case could set nationwide precedent because the memos apply to roughly 125,000 employment-based AOS filings each year. Until the court rules, employers should expect more RFEs and denials and may wish to file consular-process I-140 petitions as backups. Immigration counsel also recommend retaining travel flexibility through advance parole and preparing payroll systems for possible overseas assignments on short notice.