Washington (CNN) Advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit Friday challenging the legitimacy of the acting US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli to issue a set of "asylum directives" at the agency.

The lawsuit argues that Cuccinelli lacks the authority to serve as acting director and that any directives he issues in that capacity are therefore invalid.

Cuccinelli, who took over at the agency on June 10, does not satisfy the legal requirements to serve as the director under Federal Vacancies Reform Act ("FVRA") and the Constitution, the lawsuit argues.

The case was filed by Democracy Forward and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. on behalf of seven asylum seekers and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, a nonprofit that provides legal services to immigrants.

The groups are asking the court to declare the directives unlawful and block the agency from continuing to apply them.

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