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

[Eastbayer]

Check my previous post for filing information (I am in CA)

It is not really that difficult, believe me. In one of my previous posts, I listed the names of defendants I used, how to file out the civil cover sheet, and summon preparation etc. With respect to exhibition, I had the interview notice, fp notice, form 652, FOIPA letter, a letter from USCIS stating NC pending, and two letters from a senator saying she never got response from FBI for her inquiries---That's it!

You can also check the posts by buggin, horiba, qim of this forum. They had provided a lot of useful information regarding the filing procedure and legal issues.

Cheer up and good luck.

I have just received the Pro Se package from the District Court in order to file 1447b and found it pretty complcated. A lawyer with whom I talked about this application (who does not help in this specific case himself) told me it would be really difficult to do without a legal help. Are the lawyers the only possibility, or the clerk could assist too?

For example, in the Complaint itself, it is not quite clear to me if I need to enclose the FBI answer to my FOIPA request (no records), as well as the FBI replies to inquiries by our Congressman and Senator on my behalf. Indeed, 1747b is a complaint regarding the USCIS, and not FBI. Will it not defocus the whole complaint instead of substantiate it? Maybe, to enclose the minimum of exhibits, such as the priority day notice, 652 and the first USCIS response citing the background check as the delay cause?

Thank God, there is a template for most of the complaint text, awailable at the beginning of this thread. However, I could not find instructions regarding filling other forms, such as the Civil Cover Sheet. This is a letter/form-based process, and the papers must be perfect.
Anyway, any advice would be welcome!

 

[Andy2005]

1447b

Thanks a lot, my friends.

A little detail: I filed FOIPA before the interview, just to be sure that there were no records. It was not an inquiry immediately related to my N-400 namecheck, which is more comprehensive (otherwise most of us would not need 1447b) . But probably, it won't hurt to include the "no records" answer in the Exhibits pile.

The Civil Cover Sheet form is indeed in the package. However, it is where I have most of the questions:

1. The first defendent is of course A. Gonzales. The "defendants" box invites mentioning his "County of Residence". Does anybody know which one is this?
2. Other questions:
II Basis of Jurisdiction (which of 4 possible answers?)
IV Nature of Suit (again, multiple choice, a bunch of possibilities, all looking wrong)
V Origin, I think this should be 1-Original Processing
VI Cause of Action. It is not a multiple choice, and the wording is important here. Does anybody have a decent formulation?
VII Requested in Complaint. What to write here? What is Demand $?

Of course, there are many pages of instructions in the Pro Se package, including those for the Cover Sheet. But they are so general and hence hardly useful in our situation. For example, Line A of the instructions suggests putting "your name and prisoner number, if applicable" in Box 1. We are not there yet, guys. But do we need to mention our A# instead?

Does anybody have ready verified answers? I think they would deserve being pdf-ed and added to other documents at the beginning of this thread.

Andy

 

[Andy2005]

It is not really that difficult, believe me. In one of my previous posts, I listed the names of defendants I used, how to file out the civil cover sheet, and summon preparation etc. With respect to exhibition, I had the interview notice, fp notice, form 652, FOIPA letter, a letter from USCIS stating NC pending, and two letters from a senator saying she never got response from FBI for her inquiries---That's it!

You can also check the posts by buggin, horiba, qim of this forum. They had provided a lot of useful information regarding the filing procedure and legal issues.

Cheer up and good luck.

Eastbayer,

Thanks for the comment. There are more than 250 pages with more than 4000 postings in this thread. Could you please tell where is the one where you explain how to file the Cover Sheet? Again, I suggest it should be in page 1. Maybe, just one example of filled CS would save a lot of time for this community.

Andy

 

[ICU Doc]

North Carolina

Has anyone filed Writ of Mandamus in North Carolina?? Do you know any lawyer who has experience with it?

 

[Eastbayer]

Finding old posts

Eastbayer,

Thanks for the comment. There are more than 250 pages with more than 4000 postings in this thread. Could you please tell where is the one where you explain how to file the Cover Sheet? Again, I suggest it should be in page 1. Maybe, just one example of filled CS would save a lot of time for this community.

Andy

When you click my log-in name "Eastbayer" on top of this post, you will see the options on the left hand side. The 4th one from top is "Find all posts by Eastbayer". In early June I posted the defendants' names and Civil Sheet etc.

You can find Buggin and others' post in this way too. Does it help?

 

[sfaizullah]

Faizullah,

My understanding after talking to some geniuses on this form is that even after FBI clearing your name check USCIS can take years... I believe if i am not mistaken there were few cases in the beginning on this forum where people knew that there FBI name checks were clear but still were stuck with USCIS... this is nothing but Administrative negligence and no set procedures... one reason i believe is lack of literate employees... anyways... USCIS had your file for long time... even if we consider straight forward process... the USCIS has to process your application (final stages) after getting name check results from FBI... now I dont remember when did you get the letter from Hooton... how many days weeks ago... did you add this letter in your pro se saying that even after receiving a response from FBI these sob's are not moving your file... and also that these sob's could not get an expedite on your name check and it was your effort that you wrote to WH and got this name check processed otherwise they would have taken years more... so you have done more than your remedy exhaustion part...

answer to second question... i beleive... after filing pro se... lawyers can be expensive... but that is just an opinion... there are always good lawyers around... i would suggest to wait for the answer... at the most they will file a response... and those days are over where we in this forum used to file pro se and most of the times the name checks and the AOS applications were processed within 60 days after filing... i think including me many others in this forum has already started preparing their response to oppose their AUSA's reponse and or motion to dismiss... I would suggest tp start preparing one... and trust me i am not trying to frighten you... these sob's now have started to resist these cases more because every one has started filing lawsuits... but that doesnot change the reality... and the reality is that we are on the right and they ar on the wrong... they have no controls set within their organization... and they want us to be on mercy of them... i think even a blind man can tell us direction better than USCIS... I used to think that my country was slow meaning government agencies... but now i see that USCIS has the world record to be slowest government agency... so personally i would not recommend lawyer unless you have extra money to spend.. rather than spending money be more friendly with your AUSA and see if he would like to have some kind of arrangement with you by having more time like 30 days to get your case cleared.. this will also give you some time to prepare your response to his/her response in advance...

I have heard that judge does not blindly grant such judgements to any party... i would suggest making a good response to your AUSA's response... but i would not wait for his reply... because basically they talk about the same material.... there is a lot of material available here... please let me know if you need help...

My FOIPA is "no records" but I can only say that my name check (per Mr. Hooton) is PROCESSED & FINALIZED & RESULTS FORWARDED TO USCIS. Now from the cryptic language he used and the cryptic language AUSA uses seems that this report may be negative. I don't know why but I can't help but think this way. Per they (AUSA) want my file to be remanded back to them. Maybe I am thinking too much but if they are not settling, uses cryptic language and wants the case to be remanded back to USCIS then the outcome will be denial. Am I wrong here? The only thing I know is that I have "no records" in my FOIPA and I know I did not do anything that I should be facing this. But, in today’s world that may not be enough.

If this is the case (i.e., unfavorable report) then what are my choices?

I spoke to one lawyer and he asked me who the judge is, when I mentioned the name he said "slightly pro-Government". Not good news for me. He also asked about AUSA and when I mentioned the name he said fair-man (good man or he is OK something like that). Te lawyer said if they want to litigate this then the first retainer amount needs to be $5000. So, I am thinking now what to do. I will wait for their response next week.

I am preparing myself for next stage.

It is so bad that we don't see input from Suzy, SuperK, Mohamed, etc. these days!

Best Regards

 

[lotechguy]

My FOIPA is "no records" but I can only say that my name check (per Mr. Hooton) is PROCESSED & FINALIZED & RESULTS FORWARDED TO USCIS. Now from the cryptic language he used and the cryptic language AUSA uses seems that this report may be negative. I don't know why but I can't help but think this way. Per they (AUSA) want my file to be remanded back to them. Maybe I am thinking too much but if they are not settling, uses cryptic language and wants the case to be remanded back to USCIS then the outcome will be denial. Am I wrong here? The only thing I know is that I have "no records" in my FOIPA and I know I did not do anything that I should be facing this. But, in today’s world that may not be enough.

If this is the case (i.e., unfavorable report) then what are my choices?

I spoke to one lawyer and he asked me who the judge is, when I mentioned the name he said "slightly pro-Government". Not good news for me. He also asked about AUSA and when I mentioned the name he said fair-man (good man or he is OK something like that). Te lawyer said if they want to litigate this then the first retainer amount needs to be $5000. So, I am thinking now what to do. I will wait for their response next week.

I am preparing myself for next stage.

It is so bad that we don't see input from Suzy, SuperK, Mohamed, etc. these days!

Best Regards

I read another post here where a guy in similar situation had to remand the case to USCIS, had a second fingerprint and a second interview and was approved. In his case it was over a year after the interview. If you havent been contacted by law enforcement/FBI then whatever is in your report should not be that derogatory to deny naturalization. May not be a bad idea to retain and lawyer and let him talk to AUSA and do some handling now to get a feel of what is going on.

 

[gc18]

FOIPA & AOS

My PD is Aug-2001(EB2 RIR in TSC), I-485/I-140 RD is 1/18/2005. I-140 AD is 2/2005. FP is 1/7/2005. My I-485 is stuck in NC since 1/22/2005. I got this information from two reources. 1) Info pass on 6/28/2006. 2) Call TSC directly on 4/2006. My company lawyer doesn't help at all ( even reject my call since he thought I am not his customer.) Start look at lawyers in my area ( Atlanta) who is willing to take AOS/WOM cases and finally found one. Then I encounter a few issues.

1) FOIPA, I send my request to FBI on 6/11/2006, received on 6/17/2006 ( US certified mail). But till now I still do not get result back. Search on line, most people get it back on 3-4 weeks. So is there any way I can check for the delay?! Or just file another one. The lawyer is willing to take the case require this as eveidence, so without that I can not proceed.

2) I send letters to two senators, send letthrs to Mr. Hardy, send e-mail to FBI NC division. all no reply by now. Whether the send mail(e-mail) without reply can be an evidence?

3) My NC date is no hard eveidence though I got it from two sources, but I have no hardcopy. ( The offices in Info pass show me the computer print out for detail process date, but refuse to give me the copy , saying it's against the rule.)

4) If I avoid the lawyer, and take case by myself, do I still need these hard eveidence?

Thanks a lot.

A desperate GC applicant waiting for 8 years!!

 

[Andy2005]

1447b

When you click my log-in name "Eastbayer" on top of this post, you will see the options on the left hand side. The 4th one from top is "Find all posts by Eastbayer". In early June I posted the defendants' names and Civil Sheet etc.

You can find Buggin and others' post in this way too. Does it help?

Thanks, the postings are very helpful indeed.
The list of defendants you mentioned is different from that I found in the Complaint template posted in this thread and which is also cited by some other people here: A. Gonzales, M.Chertoff, E. Gonzales, Local USCIS director, and R. Mueller. Is any of these lists less correct or completely incorrect?

Questions to all who successfullly filed 14447b:

1. As I understand, both Civil Cover Sheet and the Summons form look identical (with exception of the local USCIS director's name) for all who files 1447b. It looks that many will follow your example and submit the same 1447.
Could any of you kindly post these filled forms thus reducing tremendously a number of repeating questions, similarly to the posting of the Complaint in page 1 of the thread? Blank out the Plaintiff name, if necessary. I really appreciate your help in advance.

2. Does anybody know the County where the first defendants (Gonzales/Chertoff) live? (Box2 of CCS)

3. Has anybody filed 1447 in the Western District of New York? I would appreciate if yoou share with me our District-related details for filing.

 

[Mette]

del

 

[Mette]

Guys, I need your input, please. I filed my WOM in Boston and the 60 day period ends on September 3, 2006. I've looked up my case in PACER today and saw that recently they assigned AUSA on my case. I then searched PACER and found out a very similar AOS/WOM case (his I-485 RD is December 2003, mine is April 2003) with the same AUSA. This case was filed in April and it's still not resolved There were 2 extensions both for 30 days on the case - the last one ends on August 12.
Do you think my case will follow the simillar track? Do I have to prepare myself for 2 extensions?

 

[frankxie]

Gees. I need to file my WOM in Boston in a couple of weeks. I am waiting for the No record FIOA from FBI. I was trying to get a lawyer to do it for me and he came up with 5000 fee. I might as well use this 5000 to go to a law school. Anyway, I am planing to file it Pro se and copied the template from someone in this forum (many thanks). Based on the USCIS MEMO, pending WOM is one way that USCIS will request the speed up your name check from FBI.USCIS has to pay for FBI for speed up. After your name cehck is cleared, you need to do another FP, which is only good for 15 month. It seems that if you get a notice to ask you to redo your FP, most likely your case has some hope. What I do not understand is only 1 out of 5 people I know would get greencard in less than a year. Majority is waiting more than 1 and half year. The excuse of USCIS is always name check pending. It is really bad there is no oversight. My I-485 RD is 10/2004. Like what I was told by the forks in USCIS, a lot of people waiting longer than me!

Guys, I need your input, please. I filed my WOM in Boston and the 60 day period ends on September 3, 2006. I've looked up my case in PACER today and saw that recently they assigned AUSA on my case. I then searched PACER and found out a very similar AOS/WOM case (his I-485 RD is December 2003, mine is April 2003) with the same AUSA. This case was filed in April and it's still not resolved There were 2 extensions both for 30 days on the case - the last one ends on August 12.
Do you think my case will follow the simillar track? Do I have to prepare myself for 2 extensions?

 

[Eastbayer]

Answers to Andy's Questions

1. As I understand, both Civil Cover Sheet and the Summons form look identical ....

A: I am not an IT guru. I was not successful when trying to save the filled Civil Cover Sheet/Summon. Ended up I typed and printed them out right away. Or my Adobe is not the newest version.

2. Does anybody know the County where the first defendants (Gonzales/Chertoff) live? (Box2 of CCS)

A: I left it blank

Please also check the local rules of the Court---important!

 

[Haddy]

My FOIPA is "no records" but I can only say that my name check (per Mr. Hooton) is PROCESSED & FINALIZED & RESULTS FORWARDED TO USCIS. Now from the cryptic language he used and the cryptic language AUSA uses seems that this report may be negative. I don't know why but I can't help but think this way. Per they (AUSA) want my file to be remanded back to them. Maybe I am thinking too much but if they are not settling, uses cryptic language and wants the case to be remanded back to USCIS then the outcome will be denial. Am I wrong here? The only thing I know is that I have "no records" in my FOIPA and I know I did not do anything that I should be facing this. But, in today’s world that may not be enough.

If this is the case (i.e., unfavorable report) then what are my choices?

I spoke to one lawyer and he asked me who the judge is, when I mentioned the name he said "slightly pro-Government". Not good news for me. He also asked about AUSA and when I mentioned the name he said fair-man (good man or he is OK something like that). Te lawyer said if they want to litigate this then the first retainer amount needs to be $5000. So, I am thinking now what to do. I will wait for their response next week.

I am preparing myself for next stage.

It is so bad that we don't see input from Suzy, SuperK, Mohamed, etc. these days!

Best Regards

Faizullah,

First of all, it could be positive that they are trying to clear their own mess up... lets take worst come worst scenario... like my case... they will file their response to deny... you just prepare for that... if i were you i will wait on hiring just any lawyer... while fighting for your own case keep looking for one lawyer who is referred by some friend, relative or a member on this forum more reasonable one with experience in WOM... you can find these lawyers by looking similar WOM cases filed by different lawyers on PACER in your district court... remember what ever would happen you are not the bad guy... you did not do any crime in your life so most they can do is file a response to dimiss your case... but the judge is not dum... judge most of the times know whats going on in their districts... because it is not just your case they are judging on they are judging on my other similar cases... keep preparing yourself...

 

[Eastbayer]

To Andy

Thanks, the postings are very helpful indeed.
The list of defendants you mentioned is different from that I found in the Complaint template posted in this thread and which is also cited by some other people here: A. Gonzales, M.Chertoff, E. Gonzales, Local USCIS director, and R. Mueller. Is any of these lists less correct or completely incorrect?

As to the names of defendants, I think it is up to you how many you want to suit. I have seen some people have a longer list than others.

My thought at that time was, I wanted to get a hold of both USCIS and FBI in front of the judge. E. Gonzales is the boss of local USCIS director; DHS is the boss of USCIS, and A. Gonzales is the boss of all US att. (also our local rules say we should send a copy to him anyway, if an US Att is going to represent any government agency/official). I tried to list as few as possible to save postage/time waiting for return receipts etc. In fact, I have not received the green card from FBI yet, although I have dismissed my case more than a month ago. At the end, we would only deal with the US Att. So I think as long as he/she receive the petition, our cases will move.

 

[Haddy]

gcmera2

gcmera2,

your pm is full... i could not email you back...

 

[lovingusa]

1447 b Question - Confused!

Experts: I am a bit confused ..

In one 1447(B) Sample I find the Jurisdiction saying:

This Honorable Court has jurisdiction over the present action pursuant to
28 USC § 1331, federal question jurisdiction;
8 USC § 1447(b),
8 USC § 1421(c),
28 USC § 2201, the Declaratory Judgment Act,
8 USC § 1329 of the immigration and Nationality Act, providing for jurisdiction of this Honorable Court over actions arising under said Act, and
5 USC § 702, the Administrative Procedures Act.


In another one I find:

Jurisdiction is conferred to the court by
8 USC § 1447(b),
28 USC § 1361
28 USC § 1331
8 USC §§ 1443-1448,
...

I just see some differences, like 1329 mentioned in the 1st not mentioned in the 2nd, 1361 is mentioned in the 2nd, but not the 1st one .. Is this OK?

 

[sfaizullah]

Hi gcmera2

Hi gcmera2,
I tried to send you this via PM but you have maxed your quota. I did not file under WoM but rather under 1447(b). If you still want to talk please do let me know.

Best Regards

 

[sfaizullah]

Faizullah,

First of all, it could be positive that they are trying to clear their own mess up... lets take worst come worst scenario... like my case... they will file their response to deny... you just prepare for that... if i were you i will wait on hiring just any lawyer... while fighting for your own case keep looking for one lawyer who is referred by some friend, relative or a member on this forum more reasonable one with experience in WOM... you can find these lawyers by looking similar WOM cases filed by different lawyers on PACER in your district court... remember what ever would happen you are not the bad guy... you did not do any crime in your life so most they can do is file a response to dimiss your case... but the judge is not dum... judge most of the times know whats going on in their districts... because it is not just your case they are judging on they are judging on my other similar cases... keep preparing yourself...

Thanks Haddy! I am researching for lawyers and also next steps. Let's see what their reponse is and that will also help to decide whether to continue Pro Se or go via a lawyer.

Thanks for your help!

Best Regards

 

[gcmera2]

Hi Guys:

Can any one PM me with their attachment of actual writ of mandamus petition. I would appreciate if it is of I-485 pending type case instead of citizenship. Thanks a lot on this guys. Waiting for receiving PM from any of those who filed.