A former Kenyan refugee has filed a federal lawsuit against the United States Citizen and Immigration Services and the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, accusing them of failing to respond to her petition in over five years.
In her lawsuit, Fowziya Weheliye faulted the US government for frustrating her efforts to bring her husband, Bashir Ahmed Awale, to Lewiston, Maine State since filing her petition in 2018.
She pointed out that under the 'follow to join' provision in the Refugee's Act, her husband is legally entitled to join her in the US as long as she provides sufficient evidence of their marriage status.
"The right to family reunification encompasses the entire follow-to-join family reunification application process until such time as eligible beneficiaries are physically admitted to the United States as refugees," the lawsuit reads in part.
As such, Weheliye availed the documents - as per US immigration laws.
The former refugee, through her lawsuit, is seeking a federal judge's intervention to compel the Immigration Department to rule on her petition.
She narrated how her husband and children lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for seven years before fleeing to Uganda owing to a crackdown by the Jubilee administration that sought to repatriate refugees to Somalia.
As the situation grew increasingly tense, Weheliye and her children successfully resettled in the United States as refugees. However, her husband, Awale, had to remain behind due to his occupation as an assistant to an oil truck driver, which required him to travel to different countries across Africa
Awale, was, however, kidnapped by smugglers in Libya where he underwent torture for three years. It took the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR's) intervention in 2017 for Awale and other refugees to be released.
Fearing for his safety, Awale ditched his job due to the increased violence in the region and sought refuge in Uganda.
Since their separation, Weheliye and Awale have not seen each other in over nine years. Accordingly, Weheliye submitted a 1,730-page petition to the immigration service department.
"The Department of Homeland Security, through its administering agency USCIS, has “exclusive” authority to adjudicate and process refugee applications to completion, including for follow-to-join beneficiaries," the lawsuit reads in part
