Immigrant families and organizations have filed a lawsuit against USCIS policies that threaten to separate families and complicate the green card application process for eligible immigrants living in the U.S.
Boston — A coalition of immigrant families, workers, educators, unions, and immigrant rights organizations has initiated a lawsuit challenging two policies implemented by the Trump-Vance administration. These policies significantly hinder or even prevent eligible immigrants residing in the United States from obtaining lawful permanent residence, commonly known as a green card, without leaving the country.
The lawsuit targets new directives from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that fundamentally alter the longstanding process of “adjustment of status.” This process was established by Congress to allow eligible immigrants already in the U.S. to apply for permanent residence without having to leave their families, jobs, and communities to pursue a green card abroad.
The policies under scrutiny include:
The Adjustment of Status Policy, issued in May 2026, which instructs immigration officers to view an applicant’s choice to seek permanent residence from within the U.S. negatively. This policy requires applicants to demonstrate “unusual or even outstanding” factors to counteract this negative consideration.
The Evidence, Requests for Evidence, and Notices of Intent to Deny Policy, issued in August 2026, allows USCIS officers to deny applications without giving applicants the chance to provide additional evidence, including those who submitted their green card applications before these new policies were enacted.
These policies disrupt the legal immigration process for individuals who have followed the rules to seek permanent residence. They place applicants at risk of losing their ability to live and work in the U.S., facing potential separation from their families and disruption of their careers and education.
The organizational plaintiffs include groups that serve immigrants nationwide, such as the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and its chapters at Harvard University and Boston University, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Americans for Immigrant Justice. Individual plaintiffs include several green card applicants who have established lives in the U.S. but now face uncertainty due to these policies.
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order to block and ultimately invalidate the policies, demanding that USCIS process affected green card applications in accordance with established legal precedents. They are represented by Democracy Forward, the American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Colombo & Hurd.
“By weaponizing the green card process and threatening immigrant professors, researchers, and students with sudden deportation or forced family separation, this administration is sabotaging scientific innovation and turning our universities into hostile environments for the global talent that drives our country forward,” said Todd Wolfson, President of the American Association of University Professors. “Trump’s assault on immigrants is not only cruel and inhumane; it weakens the global competitiveness of our higher education institutions.”
Kirsten Weld, co-president of the Harvard University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, emphasized the importance of immigrant faculty and students to the success of U.S. higher education and research. “These cruel and counterproductive new policies reflect both the Trump administration’s larger anti-immigrant crusade and its unconstitutional war on universities,” she said. “The U.S. cannot be a global leader in education while cutting off the globe.”
Mary Battenfeld, co-president of the Boston University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, condemned the new green card policies for imposing burdensome and unclear rules on international faculty and students. “These revised regulations threaten the ability and freedom of faculty and students to research, teach, and learn,” she stated. “They interfere with Boston University’s mission as an international research institution and strike at academic freedom—the core principle of higher education.”
SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Rocío Sáenz highlighted the impact of these policies on working people, stating, “Our government should make it easier, not harder, to keep families together and workers in their jobs.” David Foley, President of SEIU Local 509, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the directive disrupts legal immigration pathways and threatens the livelihoods of many workers.
“The Trump administration’s animosity towards immigrants is so deep that they are now punishing those who have been working their way to becoming permanent legal residents by following the same rules followed by countless immigrants for generations,” said Manny Pastreich, President of 32BJ SEIU. “We object to the harm this could do to families and communities everywhere.”
Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, asserted that the executive branch cannot unilaterally rewrite immigration processes established by Congress. “These policies are changing the rules on families, workers, students, and others who have followed the legal process and built their lives here,” she stated.
Leslie Dellon, a senior attorney for business immigration at the American Immigration Council, noted the significant consequences of the new policies. “Under these new, radical policies, the Trump administration is trying to reverse decades of practice and punish people for using a legal pathway that Congress created,” she said. “This is a major shift with very real consequences.”
The lawsuit, titled American Association of University Professors et al. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al., underscores the urgent need to address the challenges posed by these policies. The plaintiffs argue that the changes threaten families with prolonged separation, workers with job loss, and students and educators with disruptions to their careers.
For more information on the lawsuit, visit the American Immigration Council’s website.