SAN ANTONIO -- A lawsuit seeking to force the government to hand over already-approved residency documents will be open to hundreds of immigrants across Texas.

A federal judge in McAllen this week gave class-action status to the lawsuit by immigrant rights groups against the federal government.

The lawsuit claims that immigrants who had their permanent residency applications approved can't actually show their legal status because they never received the document.

The lawsuit said that many immigrants have been waiting for months, some even years.

The lawsuit was filed by the Texas Lawyers Committee and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.