(Stock photo by Greenleaf123/Getty Images)
A Bettendorf man and a couple from Perry are suing the federal government over what they claim are years of unexplained delays in the citizenship and naturalization process.
Konstantin Konev, a citizen of Balurus and a legal permanent resident of the United States for more than five years, is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services, as well as the agency’s director, Joseph Edlow, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
According to the lawsuit, Konev is “a law-abiding individual” who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in December 2017. On Sept. 20, 2022, Konev filed an application for naturalization. In the 34 months since then, he alleges, CIS has yet to begin the prosses of reviewing his application by scheduling an interview.
“Although U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has thus far prevented the plaintiff from becoming a U.S. citizen, the defendants have not notified the plaintiff of any problems with his case, nor have they afforded him an opportunity to address and correct any basis for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ concerns,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit states this “unlawful conduct” by CIS has deprived Konev of job opportunities as well as the right to vote, the right to serve on juries, the ability to travel abroad without fear of being denied reentry to the United States, and the right to apply for business and educational loans that are U.S. citizens are routinely granted.
The lawsuit seeks judicial adjudication of the naturalization application or a court order that would force CIS to make its own decision on the matter within 30 days.
CIS has yet to file a response to the lawsuit and has yet to respond to several requests for comment from the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
A similar case was filed recently by Mario Cesar Silva Pineda and his wife, Ana Carolina Silva of Perry.
The couple is suing CIS, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
According to the lawsuit, Silva Pineda is a U.S. citizen who was naturalized in August 2022. His wife is a citizen of El Salvador. The two claim they were married in May 2023, after which Silva Pineda filed an I-130 application on his wife’s behalf – generally considered the first step in the immigration process for someone who wishes to stay in the United States permanently based on a close relative’s status.
The couple’s lawsuit claims no action has been taken in the matter since July 19, 2023, when CIS acknowledged receipt of their application. The current average processing time for such applications is 17 months, according to federal records.
The lawsuit claims the delay in acting on the application is unreasonable and illegal and seeks court intervention in the matter. CIS has yet to file a response to the lawsuit.
Lawsuits follow cuts in immigration assistance
Recently, federal officials acknowledged they are moving to deport a central Iowa couple who is suing the government over what they claim is a five-year delay in processing their naturalization application.
The stated rationale for the attempted removal of Justin and Victoria Kokeh from the United States is that the couple lied in 2013 when they claimed to have no children. According to court filings in the case, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took no action in the matter until recently, after the Kokehs, who have lived in Des Moines and Altoona, sued Noem to force a decision in their naturalization case.
In court filings, Homeland Security has alleged the Kokehs committed fraud in connection with their 2013 visa application by asserting they had no children at the time.
Under federal law, CIS is required to avoid “excessive” delays in making decisions on naturalization applications. The statute requires the agency to render a decision within 120 days of the initial naturalization interview – although it may take months or years for such an interview to take place.
In cases where CIS doesn’t schedule an interview, applicants can still seek court intervention. In those cases, a federal judge cannot issue a decision on the application but can order CIS to make such a decision and do it in a timely fashion.
Earlier this year, Noem placed all of the staff from CIS’ Office of Ombudsman on 60 days’ administrative leave, essentially shutting down the office that was designed to assist potential immigrants resolve problems with their applications. At the time, Homeland Security said it was attempting to focus more on border security and immigration enforcement.
According to the CIS Ombudsman’s Annual Report for 2024, the office handled about 30,000 requests for assistance in 2023.
In late May, after being sued over the staff reductions, DHS said the ombudsman’s office would reopen but with a considerably smaller staff consisting of a head ombudsman, a deputy and an additional five to eight full-time employees.
The office previously had about 40 full-time employees.