United States | Edakunni v. Mayorkas settlement expires Jan. 18, 2025

The Edakunni v. Mayorkas settlement, in which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agreed to simultaneous adjudications of “bundled” H-4 and L-2 applications for dependent status and employment authorization, is set to expire on Jan. 18.

Key Points:

• Under the 2023 Edakunni v. Mayorkas settlement, USCIS said it would go back to prior practices and adjudicate these applications at the same time as the principal case, if filed together.
• The terms of the settlement took effect Jan. 25, 2023, and expire on Jan. 18, 2025.
• When the settlement expires, USCIS will no longer be required to adjudicate concurrently filed applications.
• At this point, USCIS has not released any guidance on whether it will extend the terms of the settlement and continue to adjudicate bundled dependent applications.

Additional Information: During the first Trump administration, USCIS had started to “unbundle” adjudications of concurrently filed I-539 and I-765 applications for L-2 and H-4 dependents due to a biometrics requirement. The delays associated with these applications resulted in dependents not having a valid status document for several weeks or sometimes months as well as extended gaps in work authorization.

The 2023 Edakunni v. Mayorkas settlement was a form of relief for L-2 and H-4 dependents, specifically as it relates to these spouses maintaining their U.S. work authorization, ability to timely renew their driver’s licenses and other nonimmigration benefits that may require them to have a valid I-94 or employment authorization document.