On June 11, 2009, USCIS was ordered to allow religious workers to concurrently file for Adjustment of Status at the time they file the I–360 petition.

The order is the result of a class action law suit, Gabriel Ruiz–Diaz v. United States of America, that was filed in the United District Court in Seattle, Washington.

The Court found that, the regulation that barred religious workers from concurrently filing their Adjustment of Status applications with the I–360, “8 C.F.R. § 245.,(a)(2)(i)(B) was an unreasonable and impermissible construction of the governing statute… and is, therefore, invalid and unenforceable.”

The Court has ordered USCIS to “accept as properly filed adjustment of status applications (Form I–485) and employment authorization applications (Form I–765), whether submitted concurrently with or subsequent to the visa petition.”

The Court further ordered that for those religious workers whose applications for Adjustment of Status and Employment Authorization were unlawfully rejected, USCIS must process these applications “as if they had been submitted on their original submission date, Any employment authorization that is granted shall be retroactive to the original submission date.”

USCIS has also ben ordered that “if a beneficiary of a petition for special immigrant visa (Form I–360) submits or has submitted an adjustment of status application (Form I–485) or employment authorization application (Form I–765) in accordance with the [Court order], no period of time from the earlier of (a) the date the I–360 petition was filed on behalf of the individual or (b) November 21, 2007, through the date on which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (”CIS”) issues a final administrative decision denying the application(s shall be counted as a period of time in which the applicant failed to maintain unlawful status, accrued unlawful presence, or engaged in unauthorized employment.”

Further, “the accrual of unlawful presence, unlawful status, and unauthorized employment time against beneficiaries of pending petitions for special immigrant visas (Form I–360) shall be stayed for 90 days from the date of” the order to allow these people tho opportunity to avail themselves of the benefits of the order. This means that until September 9, 2009, religious workers who have a pending I–360 cannot accrue unlawful status, unlawful presence, or unauthorized employment, even if their R–1 status has expired.

The order includes family members of the religious workers.