Sunday Goshit, a University of Iowa adjunct assistant professor and Nigerian immigrant, has always found Iowa City to be his home after immigrating to the U.S. in 2000.

Surrounded by roughly 50 community members, University of Iowa students, and legal counsel at the Iowa City Pedestrian Mall, Goshit emphasized this sentiment and announced that he and his wife, Regina Goshit, would be filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Iowa.

Kate Melloy Goettel, director of the Federal Impact Litigation Clinic at the UI, is representing the Goshits in the case and said the lawsuit challenges the halting of their naturalization application.

According to the lawsuit, Goshit and his wife filed for citizenship on April 25, 2025, after Sunday Goshit arrived in Cedar Rapids in August 2000 on an F-1 student visa, and his wife followed in August 2001 with their four children.

In June 2020, the Goshits became lawful permanent residents of the U.S., obtaining their green card visa holder status.

Following the April 2025 citizenship filing, Sunday Goshit was approved for naturalization in October 2025 after passing the naturalization interview. 

Both Regina and Sunday Goshit had their naturalization ceremonies set for Jan. 16. Less than a month before the ceremony, the couple was sent a notice stating that their naturalization ceremony had been canceled due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

Addressing a crowd holdings signs that read “USA Home of Immigrants Not Kings” and “#We stand with Sunday,”and yelling “We love Sunday,” Sunday Goshit called the halting of his naturalization application “unlawful and arbitrary.”

Goshit said when he first arrived in the U.S., he viewed it as a classroom he didn’t yet know would become his home. Goshit built a life in Iowa City, teaching at the UI, serving on the Iowa City Community School District Community Education Advisory Council, acting as president of Iowa City Compassion, a faith-based nonprofit that provides legal services for refugees and immigrants, and president of the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council.

Goshit said he has assumed these positions because he believes in the promise of the U.S. and has sought to strengthen the social fabric of Iowa through service.

“I want to be a citizen of this great nation because of its global leadership in the rule of law, the principle that no one is above the law, and everyone is entitled to its protection. This is a nation of immigrants, a place where the American passport is envied worldwide, not just for the travel it allows, but for the freedom it represents,” Goshit said.

Goshit said the impact of this delay on his citizenship process is not only administrative, but deeply personal.

“It is stifling to pass the test of citizenship only to have the final gates locked without legal justification. It is a secondary exile,” Goshit said.

In an interview with The Daily Iowan, Goshit said his initial reaction to the ceremony cancellation letter was anger and that the worst part was no reason being given.

“I imagine if this had happened to me 15, 20 years ago when I first came to the U.S. it would have been terrible for my family and for my children,” Goshit said.

Goshit said the legal immigration system needs reform and that reform does not come from punishing those who have followed the rules.

Peter Gerlach, executive director of the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, UI assistant professor of International Studies, and close friend of Sunday Goshit’s, said Goshit has touched and inspired the lives of many.

“I know he puts in the time, the effort, the commitment for all of us without a desire for recognition or any other. My best friend, Sunday Goshit became an American in spirit and character a long time ago,” Gerlach said.

The decision, Goshit said, has left him in a state of “legal limbo”, affecting his ability to travel, his peace of mind, and the “full realization of the American Dream.”

Laurel Jenks, a second-year UI law student and student clinician representing the Goshits, said the couple followed every step of the legal immigration process, one that is difficult and complicated, with compliance.

Jenks referenced a ban placed by the Trump administration on Dec. 16  on a series of Middle East and North African countries, including Nigeria, stating there are rules government agencies must follow, as the Goshits were entitled to multiple processes they did not receive.

Tiffany Brinkman, a third-year law student and student clinician representing Goshit, said the government has two months to respond and that a timely response is desired.

Sunday Goshit said him, his wife, and his children remain safe in regards to their immigration status as he and his wife are green card holders as are two of his children, the other two of which are U.S. citizens.

Sue Gsell, an Iowa City resident and attendee, said she came to the event to support Goshit and that she believes that what is happening in the U.S. is “appalling.”

“It’s unacceptable. As an American, I find it just beyond belief. I can’t believe our country is doing something like this. What is happening is just degrading to the human person, degrading to anyone who wants to be supportive of humanity. It’s just cruelty,” Gsell said.

Goshit said the reason he first came to the U.S. was to acquire an education and find opportunities for him and his children.

“Those opportunities are here and I have stayed here for 25 years. Why can I not participate in the democratic process, vote, like all other citizens do? I want to be a proud American and participate in this country,” Goshit said.

Goshit said he places his full faith in the ability and independence of the judiciary to adjudicate the matter fairly.

“I remain steadfast in my belief in the separation of powers that define American democracy and I want to ensure the law serves as a shield for those who honor it,” Goshit said.