Federal immigration authorities have at least partly reversed course on a controversial decision to stop considering requests for foreign nationals to remain in the country for medical treatment or other special circumstances.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says letters will go out this week reopening all cases pending as of August 7.
The agency said on that date that it would no longer consider the requests and ordered all pending applicants to leave the country within 33 days.
Mahsa Khanbabai of the American Immigration Lawyers Association says the reprieve doesn’t go far enough because it doesn’t appear the agency is considering new requests.
The agency did not respond to emails seeking comment Tuesday. House lawmakers who have scheduled a hearing on the subject Friday also didn’t respond.
