Anyone with a lawsuit against USCIS or thinking about a lawsuit (Merged)

[Dora50]

Data on Pending Cases

(1) Re: Interesting news article on lawsuits. Does anybody know someone who got the Citizenship without a lawsuit? Or only lawsuit is the way to go – seems total rip off/injustice- who to blame for the cost and wait?

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4813326
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(2) http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/USCISToday_Oct_06.pdf

There are only 135,000 cases pending (see USCIS newsletter). Out of this only 5,000 awaits full investigation. The rest 130,000 is waiting for the name checks. I guess it includes all the cases (green cards, citizenship and others). So, for naturalization (citizenships), we may have only 10-20,000 cases? It shouldn’t take years for name check clearance for few thousands.

Any additional data would be very helpful.

 

[huxf]

2nd FP update

I posted here last week regarding my 2nd FP. As I mentioned, my 1st FP done August 05. I thouhgt (mistakely) that my FP is vaild until Feb 2007 (counting 1.5 years). I was corrected that FP only valid for 15 months instead of 1.5 ys.

Went to 2nd FP yesterday and also made an infopass visit. Confirmed that name cleared on 12/12/06, the date when they sent me the 2nd FP notice. Sounds to me it was the name check result that triggered the 2nd FP.

It is funny that name check cleared (based on what they said) on the same day when I filed my WOM at the district court.

paz1960, i think you got FP notice too. Should be good for you.

BTW, since I have already filed WOM and name check cleared. what do I do for my WOM case? should I keep contact with ASUA to push for an approval? I think it should be an easy case for them because it would take much less time if FBI did clear my name check and only CIS involved . am I right?
I think there were people who went to for FP and got approval soon. Anybody know how long normally it takes if everything goes smoothly? 1-2 weeks?

 

[gctarget06]

Guys...
I filed my WOM on 19th December and served the defendants next day. Even after a week (most likely due to the holiday season) of serving the defendants, only 2 of the defendants have received the summons so far. Remaining has not been delivered yet as thats what it says on USPS's web site. I called the court and Clerk told me that "there is a timelimit" to file the return receipt with court but she refused to give me the detail as it'd be considered as "legal advice". Anybody can throw some light on it i.e. what is the timelimit to file these return receipt ?? what if the defendants are on holidays and doesn't receive it in the timeline provided ?? what is this timeline ?? Please help me guys....Thanks a lot in advance....

 

[2005N400]

mailing address

Guys,
Do we have to mail the Certificate of Service to the Attorney's office?
Any one has the exact mailing address of the civil division of the South District Of California at San Diego. Thanks in advance.

Happy Holidays!!!

 

[todundmaiden]

I-485 Approved or Not?

I got two emails from CRIS. The first one stated "On December 27, 2006, we mailed you a notice that we had registered
this customer's new permanent resident status. Please follow any
instructions on the notice. Your new permanent resident card should be mailed
within 60 days following this registration or after you complete any ADIT
processing referred to in the welcome notice, whichever is later. If
you move before you get your new card call customer service. You can also
receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow
the link below to register."

However, the second email stated "On December 27, 2006, a duplicate notice on this case was mailed
describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on
the notice. If this I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR
TO ADJUST STATUS is still pending, you will be notified by mail when a
decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you
move while this case is pending, call customer service. If this case is
still pending, we process each kind of case in the order we receive them.
You can use our processing dates to estimate when this case will be
done. This case is at our NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the
link below for current processing dates. You can also receive automatic
e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to
register."

Is my I-485 approved or not? By the way, I filed WOM a month ago.

 

[paz1960]

Guys...
I filed my WOM on 19th December and served the defendants next day. Even after a week (most likely due to the holiday season) of serving the defendants, only 2 of the defendants have received the summons so far. Remaining has not been delivered yet as thats what it says on USPS's web site. I called the court and Clerk told me that "there is a timelimit" to file the return receipt with court but she refused to give me the detail as it'd be considered as "legal advice". Anybody can throw some light on it i.e. what is the timelimit to file these return receipt ?? what if the defendants are on holidays and doesn't receive it in the timeline provided ?? what is this timeline ?? Please help me guys....Thanks a lot in advance....

Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states:

Time Limit for Service.
If service of the summons and complaint is not made upon a defendant within 120 days after the filing of the complaint, the court, upon motion or on its own initiative after notice to the plaintiff, shall dismiss the action without prejudice as to that defendant or direct that service be effected within a specified time; provided that if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court shall extend the time for service for an appropriate period. This subdivision does not apply to service in a foreign country pursuant to subdivision (f) or (j)(1).

 

[paz1960]

Guys,
Do we have to mail the Certificate of Service to the Attorney's office?
Any one has the exact mailing address of the civil division of the South District Of California at San Diego. Thanks in advance.

Happy Holidays!!!

There were conflicting opinions about this issue posted on this forum. I used the general rule of thumb to send a copy of everything I file with the court, so I sent a copy of the Certificate of Service to the US Attorney's Office in my district. (Probably redundant).
According to a quick search with Google, the requested address is:
U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of California
Civil Process Clerk
Federal Office Building
880 Front Street, Room 6293
San Diego, California 92101-8893

 

[paz1960]

I received a letter from USCIS for a 2nd FP.
Will I be asked for a 2nd interview and than wait for FBI to check my name again?
Thanks

1st FP 18 July, 2005
Interview 31st Oct, 2005
1447(b) filled Nov 2, 2006
Eastern VA
2nd FP Dec 27, 2006
2nd Interview XXXXX
Name check cleared XXXXXX
Oath XXXXX

Not likely. In most of the cases I saw, the second FP is a good sign, your case is moving now. You were asked for a second FP because the first one expired (valid only 15 months). Sometimes, USCIS calls for a second interview just to verify the correctness of the data they have on file, but most of the cases they adjudicate the application as soon as the background check is complete.

I am in a similar situation: yesterday I had my 2nd FP, I hope that the name check is complete (or soon will be).

 

[mogumogu]

AUSA's answer to my WoM (I-485) at Chicago

Dear all,

I haven't spoken here before, although I read through this thread from time to time. I thank you all for this powerful thread. Here is my story:

After 2.5 years waiting on name check for me and my spouse, I filed WoM (I-485) Pro Se in Sep. at Chicago. Only I was listed as Plaintiff (I followed an example, and I didn't know one case can have two Plaintiffs Pro Se) although I wrote my spouse's name and case throughout the complaint and exhibits. In Oct. my name check was cleared but not my spouse's. At that time I know there can be two Plaintiffs Pro Se, so before AUSA filed anything, I directly filed amended complaint with my spouse as Plaintiff as well. My I-485 was approved, but my spouse's name check is still pending as of today.

I had status hearing in Court, where the AUSA (besides Sheila McNulty as Moon_g mentioned as super nice, there was another male AUSA) argued that there was NO delay to my spouse's I-485 because USCIS cannot adjudicate my spouse's case before they adjudicate mine. He claimed as if there was no case existed for my spouse before my I-485 approval. The judge ask AUSA to file an answer, and I just saw their answer to my amended complaint.

In the answer, AUSA repeated to deny the majority of allegations on my spouse (mine is moot anyway). They claimed that "Denied as to the allegation that (FBI director) has breached any duty owed to (my spouse)", "Denied that the court has jurisdiction over the case of (my spouse)", "Denied as to the allegation that the case of (my spouse) has been excessively delayed". They even denied the fact that immigration visa was available to my spouse at the time of filing lawsuit, which I think is really stupid.

I don't want to say the Chicago AUSA is nice or not, but it's their job to defend USCIS (against us). I read from this thread that I don't need to file anything to AUSA's answer. I do hope they are just try to buy more time to resolve my spouse's case. My next status hearing in Court is the end of Jan. Dear gurus, any suggestions/advices are highly appreciated.

(Thanks to RWDW and jzdc!)

 

[paz1960]

I got two emails from CRIS. The first one stated "On December 27, 2006, we mailed you a notice that we had registered
this customer's new permanent resident status. Please follow any
instructions on the notice. Your new permanent resident card should be mailed
within 60 days following this registration or after you complete any ADIT
processing referred to in the welcome notice, whichever is later. If
you move before you get your new card call customer service. You can also
receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow
the link below to register."

However, the second email stated "On December 27, 2006, a duplicate notice on this case was mailed
describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on
the notice. If this I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR
TO ADJUST STATUS is still pending, you will be notified by mail when a
decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you
move while this case is pending, call customer service. If this case is
still pending, we process each kind of case in the order we receive them.
You can use our processing dates to estimate when this case will be
done. This case is at our NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the
link below for current processing dates. You can also receive automatic
e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to
register."

Is my I-485 approved or not? By the way, I filed WOM a month ago.

This is really confusing, but in couple of days you should receive in mail the notice mentioned in the first e-mail. My bet would go that you are approved...

The other source of info is the AUSA assigned to your case. (S)he should be aware of the USCIS action. I would try to contact him/her and ask the same question. AUSA's interest is also to resolve your pending WOM case. If your I-485 is approved, the court case is practically solved (you will file with the government a joint motion to dismiss, because the complaint is moot = your petition is approved).

 

[paz1960]

An update on my case:

As a little background, I applied for citizenship in February 2006. I passed my interview on August 10, at which time I was told that "security checks" were pending in my case. I went for an InfoPass appointment on October 18, at which time the information officer at the front desk told me that all security checks had been cleared and that I should be scheduled for the oath soon. She also told me not to come back until 120 days after my interview (December 8). On December 15, I called the 800 number. They told me the same thing and suggested that I go in for another InfoPass appointment to find out why I had not yet been scheduled to take the oath ceremony.

Last Friday (Dec. 22), I went in for my second InfoPass appointment. First, the information officer sent me to the waiting room. Then, an immigration officer referred my case to someone on the second floor. After 2 hours of being there, another immigration officer came out and confirmed that all security checks had cleared, that my case had been approved, and that my case was simply waiting to be "verified" and then scheduled for an oath ceremony. He also gave me a new Form N-652 (Naturalization Interview Results) saying "Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval" and in handwriting at the bottom: "Completed, sent to be verified, then oath." When I asked how much longer I should expect to wait, he said that he did not know, citing the fact that there has been a 40% increase in applications and a 25% decrease in USCIS personnel processing applications at Fairfax. I then pointed out that my interview was over 120 days ago and asked him if he could give me a more specific time frame (weeks? months?). He said that it would likely be a few more weeks, probably in January or February. He also said that I should come back if I still have not been scheduled for the oath within the next 4 months! I left fuming!

Does anyone know what it means for a case to be "verified" after it has been approved and all security checks have cleared?

Do people think that I should wait a little longer (until the end of February) or should I file a lawsuit now? Should I send a follow-up letter to the District Director of my local office (Washington, DC - Fairfax office) threatening to sue?

My fingerprints were taken on March 18. When will they expire?

Thanks.

I would file the 1447(b) based lawsuit immediately. You have a bulletproof case, your name check is cleared, they have no reason why to delay adjudicating your application. It is very likely that as soon as you file your complaint, AUSA will pressure USCIS to adjudicate your case before the defendants's answer is due. It will cost you $350 + mailing costs. If you are not in hurry, you can go the other avenue: write to your elected officials explaining them your case and ask them to push USCIS. And if in February you still don't have your oath letter, you still can sue them.

Sending a letter to the USCIS DO threatening them to sue may work with a higher probability than in cases when the name check is still pending with the FBI.

According to info posted on this forum, the FP are good for 15 months.

 

[mgzh]

how long to get the post card back from DC?

I filed wom 12 days ago, so far, only get 2 post cards back. one from local INS office, another from local us attorney office. all the summonc sent to DC, no post card back yet. Any one can tell me how long do they take? i know i have 120 days to file back to court, but still worry.............

another question for paz, when i wrote the summonce, the court clerk asked me only leave my name and address on it, and don't put my phone number or email address. i don't know why they asked me did that. but now, i m think how the ausa concact with me? only by mail? should i contact them first, or just wait? when is the best time to start contact with ausa?

 

[paz1960]

I filed wom 12 days ago, so far, only get 2 post cards back. one from local INS office, another from local us attorney office. all the summonc sent to DC, no post card back yet. Any one can tell me how long do they take? i know i have 120 days to file back to court, but still worry.............

another question for paz, when i wrote the summonce, the court clerk asked me only leave my name and address on it, and don't put my phone number or email address. i don't know why they asked me did that. but now, i m think how the ausa concact with me? only by mail? should i contact them first, or just wait? when is the best time to start contact with ausa?

From FBI I never got back the return receipt. The other Washington-based defendants sent me back the return receipts at different times (as I remember, in about 3 weeks). I didn't wait to receive the green cards (return receipts), I used the USPS tracking website printouts with the mailing receipts.

Typically, AUSA will not initiate the contact with the Plaintiff. You should try to find out who was assigned to your case and try to contact him/her. There is no unique answer when to contact AUSA. If you call the US Attorney's Office too early, probably your case is not assigned yet to an AUSA. On the other hand, in my opinion, earlier is better, because AUSA can start moving things with USCIS and FBI better than anybody. So wait about 3 weeks after you served the complaint and summons and start calling the local US Attorney's Office.

 

[paz1960]

Dear all,

I haven't spoken here before, although I read through this thread from time to time. I thank you all for this powerful thread. Here is my story:

After 2.5 years waiting on name check for me and my spouse, I filed WoM (I-485) Pro Se in Sep. at Chicago. Only I was listed as Plaintiff (I followed an example, and I didn't know one case can have two Plaintiffs Pro Se) although I wrote my spouse's name and case throughout the complaint and exhibits. In Oct. my name check was cleared but not my spouse's. At that time I know there can be two Plaintiffs Pro Se, so before AUSA filed anything, I directly filed amended complaint with my spouse as Plaintiff as well. My I-485 was approved, but my spouse's name check is still pending as of today.

I had status hearing in Court, where the AUSA (besides Sheila McNulty as Moon_g mentioned as super nice, there was another male AUSA) argued that there was NO delay to my spouse's I-485 because USCIS cannot adjudicate my spouse's case before they adjudicate mine. He claimed as if there was no case existed for my spouse before my I-485 approval. The judge ask AUSA to file an answer, and I just saw their answer to my amended complaint.

In the answer, AUSA repeated to deny the majority of allegations on my spouse (mine is moot anyway). They claimed that "Denied as to the allegation that (FBI director) has breached any duty owed to (my spouse)", "Denied that the court has jurisdiction over the case of (my spouse)", "Denied as to the allegation that the case of (my spouse) has been excessively delayed". They even denied the fact that immigration visa was available to my spouse at the time of filing lawsuit, which I think is really stupid.

I don't want to say the Chicago AUSA is nice or not, but it's their job to defend USCIS (against us). I read from this thread that I don't need to file anything to AUSA's answer. I do hope they are just try to buy more time to resolve my spouse's case. My next status hearing in Court is the end of Jan. Dear gurus, any suggestions/advices are highly appreciated.

(Thanks to RWDW and jzdc!)

I am not very familiar with the I-485 cases, but I remember that I saw lawsuits filed Pro Se which were attacked by defendants because they claimed that Pro Se can represent only himself, not his wife too. Looks that this AUSA didn't use this in his answer. My guess is also like yours; they just try to buy time and your wife's case will be solved before the next status hearing. The argument that your wife's case didn't exist before your case was approved seems logical (she being a dependent) but not necessary in line with the regulations and certainly not in line with the common practice. In many cases (e.g., our case in 1999) spouses are approved simultaneously, although only one is the principal beneficiary the other is dependent.

I would prepare all the arguments for my wife's case like I would do to my WOM case, i.e., unreasonable delay (2.5 years) in adjudicating the application. Although they ultimately approved your application but it was approved still way in much longer time than normally they process such cases and your wifes case was dependent on yours, so it is still unreasonably delayed. It would be really stupid to start counting separately your wife's case from the date of your approval...

 

[paz1960]

I posted here last week regarding my 2nd FP. As I mentioned, my 1st FP done August 05. I thouhgt (mistakely) that my FP is vaild until Feb 2007 (counting 1.5 years). I was corrected that FP only valid for 15 months instead of 1.5 ys.

Went to 2nd FP yesterday and also made an infopass visit. Confirmed that name cleared on 12/12/06, the date when they sent me the 2nd FP notice. Sounds to me it was the name check result that triggered the 2nd FP.

It is funny that name check cleared (based on what they said) on the same day when I filed my WOM at the district court.

paz1960, i think you got FP notice too. Should be good for you.

BTW, since I have already filed WOM and name check cleared. what do I do for my WOM case? should I keep contact with ASUA to push for an approval? I think it should be an easy case for them because it would take much less time if FBI did clear my name check and only CIS involved . am I right?
I think there were people who went to for FP and got approval soon. Anybody know how long normally it takes if everything goes smoothly? 1-2 weeks?

Hello huxf, seems that we are (hopefully) in a very similar stage of our journey with USCIS. I was yesterday for my 2nd FP, but the Application Support Center is in Grand Rapids, MI, the USCIS DO is in Detroit, MI and I live in a third town. So I didn't go for an infopass and I don't know if my name check is cleared or not.

My AUSA filed yesterday a motion to extend with 30 days the deadline till he needs to answer my complaint.

I would continue to communicate with my AUSA, now (s)he has a very strong case to push USCIS for a decision on your case.

I would also like to know how long it takes to have the application/petition adjudicated after the second FP. This probably depends from case to case and district to district. The shortest must be when they have also the name check done (like in your case) and no possible derogatory information which would require further investigation or a second interview. Theoretically, in your case the decision can be made any moment, so I think that you will receive very soon some good news. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

[sfdurrani]

Hi Paz1960,

I got the PACER membership. I have filed WOM for my I-485 11/22/2006 in NM.
Is there some easy way to sort out WOM for I-485 cases in different districts? Also I sent you a PM couple of days ago about WOM cases in NM. Let me know if you had any input on that.
As always I appreciate your response.

 

[paz1960]

Hi Paz1960,

I got the PACER membership. I have filed WOM for my I-485 11/22/2006 in NM.
Is there some easy way to sort out WOM for I-485 cases in different districts? Also I sent you a PM couple of days ago about WOM cases in NM. Let me know if you had any input on that.
As always I appreciate your response.

Hi sfdurrani,
I looked up to some cases in NM using the link you provided in your e-mail. The only way how I could list cases, which contained the WOM or 1447(b) cases was to search for party name and I put Chertoff (considering that everybody used him as a defendant). But many of such cases are irrelevant for our purposes, so it is not a very efficient way to search.

My impression from reading a couple of cases was that the AUSA invariantly files an answer claiming lack of jurisdiction, using same arguments like in the Danilov v. Aguirre case. The judge usually didn't buy this but ultimately the cases I saw were solved before actually the judge had to make a decision. I didn't have time and patience to go through all of these cases, so I can't really draw any generally valid conclusion, but from what I saw, I subsribe to your conclusions.

With the search on PACER, I used mostly the same criteria, i.e., put Chertoff or Gonzales as last name in the party. You can try 540 as the nature of the lawsuit (540 is the mandamus), but I was looking mainly for naturalization cases based on 1447(b).

 

[huxf]

case update

2nd FP done the day before yesterday (26th).
Logged into CIS account and noticed that the "latest update date" has been changed to today, bot no new information and no email notification.
keep my finger crossed. let's see what will happen next and hope for the best.

 

[paz1960]

2nd FP done the day before yesterday (26th).
Logged into CIS account and noticed that the "latest update date" has been changed to today, bot no new information and no email notification.
keep my finger crossed. let's see what will happen next and hope for the best.

I checked my CIS account and under "latest update date" I didn't see any change, still a November 2004 date, although I was successfully interviewed on Jan 27, 2005 and did the 2nd FP like huxf on Dec 26, 2006.

I guess, this online case status account is not very reliable...

 

[icare]

Got new FP letters - is this a good sign?

Filed the case 10/24, served all defendants and AUSA on 11/2. Today got new FP letters - as I read through the past posts this only happen if NC is cleared - if so I'd be so happy!

icare

I filed on Tues, and today got back the Summons and a copy of the cover sheet and a copy of the complaint.

I just get one set of the summons...

Should I copy the complaint the court sent back and serve with the Summons, or should I just use the copies I had before? It'd be a hassle to unstaple the complaint and go to a local Kinko's to do the copying... but if it is better I'lll do that... please comment.

And, why don't I have 2 sets of summons like Moon_g has?

Thanks guys!