Mr. Tsegaye Sisay Tegegn, a citizen and resident of Ethiopia, won the Green Card Lottery in 2023. Not only was it his dream to come to the U.S., to join his brother who is a Ph.D. Chemical Engineering Student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, but he also seeks sanctuary from the ethnic and religious violence plaguing his beloved homeland.

After winning the lottery, he paid the filing fees, filled out all the forms, and has patiently waited since the Summer of 2023 for his immigrant visa interview at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa. He paid these fees with reasonable expectation that the Department of State was willing to adjudicate the immigrant visa application in a timely, fair, and non-arbitrary manner.

However, the U.S. Embassy has refused to schedule his immigrant visa interview, or to transfer to another post.

If he is unable to secure the visa by 9/30/2024, this visa opportunity expires by operation of law, and is gone forever.

Attorney Richard Herman, who represents Mr. Tegegn before the Department of State, says that if the Government did not have the intention or the capacity to fulfill this basic function, it should have properly warned Mr. Tegegn, prior to his paying the filing fees, that it had no intention or capacity to timely adjudicate the petition.

No such warning or advisal was provided.

In the private sector, this conduct would be analogous to Consumer Fraud.

Attorney Herman, also states: “This is outrageous, fraudulent, and discriminatory conduct by the State Department. In addition to outright misrepresentation, there is the strong stench of institutional racism. If Mr. Tegegn were white and from Sweden, just to pick a random European country, his Diversity Visa interview would be scheduled, timely, and without a hiccup. Ironically, the US “Diversity” Lottery Program does not value diversity, and in fact, actively discriminates against those of color.”

With the assistance of Attorney Jath Shao, from the Herman Legal Group, Mr. Tegegn has recently filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Cleveland, against the State Department, alleging that it has violated his due process rights to fairly and timely adjudicate his visa petition (Case number1:24-CV-01399).
Thus far, the position communicated by the State Department is that they will fight the lawsuit.

Due to the dangers in Ethiopia, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has has designated Ethiopia under the Temporary Protected Status program, providing sanctuary to many Ethiopians already in the U.S., such as Mr. Tegegn’s uncle, who also resides in Cleveland.

Mr. Tegegn’s brother, Zemene, states: “It’s incredibly frustrating and bewildering that despite my brother doing everything required over a year ago, his case remains stuck in bureaucratic inaction. The lack of response or urgency from the authorities has left our family in emotional and financial distress. If my brother is able to come and join me, I can finally focus on my PhD studies, as his situation has been a continuous source of distraction and anxiety.”

The fair resolution, in order to fulfill Department of State’s legal and moral duty, would be to schedule this immigrant visa interview at any appropriate US Embassy so that the visa can be issued prior to the deadline of September 30, 2024.