Under a certified class relief, certain visa applicants who were previously refused visas will receive a fee credit to submit a new visa application and may be eligible for a prioritized visa appointment.

Key Points:

  • The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California certified class relief for the consolidated cases of Farangis Emami, et al. v. Alejandro Mayorkas, et al., and Pars Equality Center, et al. v. Antony Blinken, et al.
  • The class relief offers certain visa applicants who were refused visas under Presidential Proclamation 9645 a one-time, nontransferable fee credit to submit a new visa application. This fee credit may be used once toward any immigrant or nonimmigrant visa at any U.S. embassy or consulate. Eligible class members may also have the option to obtain a prioritized visa appointment.
  • The class-wide relief will be available beginning Aug. 12, 2024.

Additional Information: Nationals of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela or Yemen who were denied a visa under Presidential Proclamation 9645 between Dec. 8, 2017, and Jan. 20, 2021, and did not receive a waiver may be eligible to benefit from the class relief. More information about eligibility and how to obtain relief benefits is available here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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