Al Salihi v. Blinken: Challenging the delays in adjudicating I-730/follow-to-join petitions of an Iraqi family

This case, filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the United States Department of State, was one in a series of cases in which IRAP is representing refugee families who are seeking to reunite in the United States. 

Our client

Our client, Rasha Al Salihi, is an Iraqi refugee who fled her home country with her daughter Rose after Rasha lost her father to insurgent violence. Her husband—Rose’s father—was unable to leave with them to the United States. The family submitted an I-730 Refugee/Asylee Petition for family reunification in October 2017, but despite making every effort to comply with USCIS’ requests pertaining to their petition, it remained pending for several years.

Impact

Following the filing of this lawsuit, USCIS finally approved the family’s petition in July 2023. After IRAP successfully defeated the government’s motion to dismiss, Rasha’s husband was finally approved for refugee status and the family was reunited in June 2024.

Case status

• April 19, 2023: Case is filed.
• August 21, 2023: Plaintiffs file an amended version of their complaint.
• September 5, 2023: Following the approval of the family’s I-730 petition in July, Defendants file a motion to dismiss, arguing that the case should be terminated.
• October 6, 2023: Plaintiff files its opposition to Defendants’ motion to dismiss, arguing that DHS is responsible for the entire follow-to-join refugee process and that the litigation should be allowed to proceed until Rasha’s husband is admitted to the US or denied admission.
• October 16, 2023: Defendants file their reply to Plaintiff’s opposition to their motion to dismiss.
• November 17, 2023: The Court denies Defendants’ motion to dismiss, recognizing DHS’s responsibility for the entire I-730 refugee process, including the portion that it outsources to the State Department.
• June 21, 2024: Notice of voluntary dismissal filed based on family’s successful reunification.

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP and Theodora Oringher PC were co-counsel in this case.