A LAWSUIT has been filed against the US government alleging it unfairly denied 22,000 would-be legal immigrants the right to a “green card” due to a computer blunder.
The class action legal case is being taken against the US state department by applicants from more than 30 countries, including several people from Ireland.
The lawsuit alleges the state department informed some 22,000 people last month that they were “winners” in an annual lottery for diversity visas, granting permanent resident status. A few weeks later it informed the winners that in fact they had to be disqualified because a computer glitch meant they had not been randomly selected, which one of the conditions for awarding the green cards.
Stuart McBrien, a management consultant originally from Lisburn, Northern Ireland, said the decision by the state department to cancel the result of the lottery had broken his dreams.
“The state department act of cancelling their written commitment to me, through no fault of my own, has been a kick in the teeth. I have incurred some cost – some in money, some in adjusted plans and plans put on hold – but mostly in terms of broken dreams,” he said.
Mr McBrien said when he got the notice in May that he had won the lottery, he immediately filed his application papers for the green card and began planning his move to the US.
“I let my current client know that I would not be available for an extended engagement with them as I was moving to America. I told friends and family of the happy news of the opportunity that I had before me,” he said.
He said he had spoken to presidential hopeful Niall O’Dowd, who had promised to raise the issue with senators in Washington.
A woman from Dublin said she had put her life on hold since entering the lottery several months ago.
“Under the lottery rules you have to have enough money in your bank account for months leading up to the application. So I’ve been saving up, not going out, not going on holiday,” she said. “Its completely unfair that they simply cancelled the offer,” she said.