Category: Cases

(COLUMBUS, OH – May 25, 2018) CAIR-Columbus today announced the successful resolution of a lawsuit against the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem for unreasonably delaying an immigrant visa for the Palestinian wife of a U.S. citizen.  The couple was married in 2015 and promptly filed the appropriate applications immediately thereafter.  Once USCIS sent the application to the US Consulate in Jerusalem it sat unadjudicated for well over two years causing the couple to remain separated unnecessarily – the husband living in the United States and the wife remaining in Palestine.

Omar Jaafar is now a United States citizen after waiting over three years for his citizenship application to be adjudicated.

Jaafar, a native citizen of Iraq, initially applied for citizenship in 2014.  United States law provides that an applicant must receive a decision on a citizenship application within 120 days of the interview, however, until CAIR-Columbus attorneys filed a lawsuit for Mr. Jaafar, USCIS failed to even schedule his interview. Once the lawsuit challenging the unreasonable delay was filed, Mr. Jaafar was interviewed and approved within two months, and was officially sworn in a as citizen last week.

His attorneys suspect his case was delayed due to a little-known policy called CARRP.    CARRP stands for the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program.  It’s a covert program that the U.S. government began in 2008, in which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in particular U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), began giving strict extra scrutiny to immigrants and non-citizens from Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities when they apply for U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency (a green card), and asylum.

On Sunday, October 1, CAIR-Columbus Public Affairs Coordinator, Usjid Hameed, was one of five panelists to speak at For Ohio’s Future’s “Resist. Mobilize. Win.” event. Hameed and panelists from other local organizations discussed race, activism, and the new challenges faced by their communities since the Trump Administration took office.

Hameed spoke about the immigration barriers enacted by the new administration which disproportionately impact Muslims, and touched on the steep rise in anti-Muslim bias incidents since the 2016 election season began. In addition, he spoke about the importance of voting and staying informed to combat these discriminatory policies.