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

[SHAFFI]

I think different district court has different rules. In my district court, the clerk asked me to send out the original ones to the defendents and he himself made a copy for each of them. As for the return of service, he said I need to bring back later.

It is better to call the district court and find out.

US district court follows the fedral law and therefore all district courts have the same rules. If you obtain a Pro Se information from any district court, you will find them to be the same. There is no speculation here, it is the law of the US and has nothing to do with the State you reside.

 

[786riz]

Hi LAmorocco,
Other then sending to defendant (summon & complain), have you delivered summons and complain to AUSA? When you got the mail confirmation, you sent the summons with proof of delivery to court, have you also filed a copy to AUSA?
Thank you.

Wrong. The original will be sent to court once you received the return receipt.
In my case, I took 6 summons to court (original). The clerk stamped them all and made one copy of each. She also stamped the copy. She said to mail copy to defendant and keep original that should be mailed to court with return receipt.
Cheers

 

[dhua]

Here is the list I used:
1- Alberto Gonzales, United States Attorney General
US Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

2- Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
Office of the General Counsel
US Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528

3- Emilio T. Gonzalez, Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Office of the Chief Counsel
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
20 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Rm 4025
Washington, DC 20529
4- Robert S. Mueller, Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation
Office of the General Counsel of the FBI
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535


I would assume DAVID STILL is the local director, and you should be able to get the address from www.uscis.gov and looking at local offices.

Good luck.

Use this..

David Still
USCIS San Francisco Disctrict Office
630 Sansome Street
San Francisco, CA 94111

I used certified mail with return receipt with this address without problems. I also got the return receipt back.

 

[Bushmaster]

Is it possible without a lawsuit?

The FBI website says this;

The FBI tries to process its oldest name checks first. Customer agencies will occasionally request expedited handling of specific name checks. Criteria used to determine which name checks receive expedited handling are internal matters of each customer agency. The FBI does request that the number of expedited cases be kept to a minimum in fairness to the other pending name check requests. Because each customer agency determines which name checks are expedited, contacting Congressional representatives, the FBI's Office of Congressional Affairs, or the NNCP will only further tie up vital resources and will not contribute to the expediting of a name check.

SO, it is clear that USCIS has the option to ask the FBI to clear the namecheck. I am trying to exhaust every possible venue before I file my lawsuit. I have already sent congressional inquiries, I have mailed the FOIA Privacy Request today. Military lawyers agreed to write letters to ATL District Office or whoever they will write within the USCIS.

There are a few differences between you guys and me in regards to filing the lawsuit. I can't do it myself, pro se, as I am also a government branch. I believe a judge would require proper counsel in this case. Military can not represent me, as government would be using its own resources against itself. But I am advised to get private counsel. That is fine, will strain my finances and get one lawyer but like I said I would like to try every possible way to get USCIS on the case.

What knucklehead in this name check BS would be the best to put pressure on? While I have got the military lawyers help me, I believe I will request to see my COMMANDING GENERAL in 3 Infantry Division. He should be able to pull some ropes in this deal. That is very iffy though. I will also ask my military lawyers to contact a AUSA and tell him/her that there is strong intent to file a 1447(b).

Please advise.

 

[potter]

Each court has local rules

US district court follows the fedral law and therefore all district courts have the same rules. If you obtain a Pro Se information from any district court, you will find them to be the same. There is no speculation here, it is the law of the US and has nothing to do with the State you reside.

I think each district court has different local rules. The court I filed my WOM is Central California District Court at Downtown LA. I first submitted summons with one summon per defendant, but the clerk said all defendants' name should be put onto single Summon form. Then I give her 5 copies of summon that has all defendants' name on it. She only accepted 3 copies, stamped them, returned me two . The two copies I got are different, one has original signature and embossed seal, and the second one has a printed name and a stamp of "Seal" word. I just make five copies of the 2 summons and sent both of them to each defendant.

I found summon is the most confusing topic in this thread. Why not let each of us who already files the case to tell the requirement of summon at different district court.

 

[sara16]

Hi Guys,
I need some help here regarding filling summons.
The summons that I got from my Michigan court, on one side it has summon and other side it has Return of Service form.
The way I understood, if there are 5 defendants I need to fill out five summons, take them to court get case number stamped on them. Now make 3 copies of each summon altogether 15 summons in hand (4 total per defendant, 1original plus 3 copies). Original will go to defendants, left with 3. Five to be submitting to AUSA (one for each defendant) with complain, left with 2. Keep one for my record, left with one. Wait for the delivery confirmation, when confirmed, fill out the back of the each summon (last once), which is return of service (total 5, one per defendant) make two copies (total 3, 1 original 2 copies). Submit original to the court, file one copy to AUSA and keep one for your record.
A quick response would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you and have a good one.

I think each court has different local rules and procedures as to filing summons. If you contact your court, they will tell you how you should handle your summons.

My experience in filing summons: The court prepares summons. On each single summon, they listed all five defendents' name. They told me to mail the summons to defendents, one for each. When all defendents received the summon and complaint, I have to file return of service to the court. They did not mention they want the summons back.

 

[LAmorocco]

Hi LAmorocco,
Other then sending to defendant (summon & complain), have you delivered summons and complain to AUSA?

In my state, it is not allowed to deliver personnally summon+complain to AUSA. I sent them by certified mail.

When you got the mail confirmation, you sent the summons with proof of delivery to court, have you also filed a copy to AUSA?
Thank you.

I am still waiting for my return receipts. But, the answer is yes. In addition to sending summons and proof of delivery to court, you have to make copies of return receipts and send them to AUSA. As a rule of thumb, any time you file an item with court, you need to make a copy and send it to AUSA.
Cheers

 

[kabi24]

I have a question, say we filed the lawsuit, and USCIS seems to be cooperating and promises the judge to finish the case, so judge remands the case back, and once they get the jurisdiction back from the court, they deny my application, what can be done?

They will only deny you if they have some strong reason to do so, in that case you will have to do the regular appeal process, they must have something really bad like you were recently involved in a fellony or something.... it is less likely to happen..
good luck

 

[olegb]

This question is for everyone who filed 1447 petition and, thus, knows the right procedure.
I am totally confused about the summons issue. It looks like that such a seemingly simple thing is so confusing. I feel like an idiot. Anyway, my question is. Should I have all the defendant names listed on the summon or should I issue one individual for each of the defendants? So far I've seen very contradictory postings here. Is there a RIGHT way of doing this? Please advice
Thank you all for advice and good luck

 

[Bushmaster]

They will only deny you if they have some strong reason to do so, in that case you will have to do the regular appeal process, they must have something really bad like you were recently involved in a fellony or something.... it is less likely to happen..
good luck

Thanks, no I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND, serving in the military honorably, however I had overstayed my visa and I was put in deportation proceedings 5 years ago. I adjusted status to a permanent resident in Immigration Court, proceedings were terminated. I am worried if CIS would use this to deny my application.

 

[786riz]

Hi olegb,
Looks to me it is different for different court.
I confirmed with my court (Detroit, Michigan), court clerk told me that only one name on each summon, I also confirmed her statement by checking the pacer. My confusion is about return service, because summon and return service is on one page back and front. So you must have three copies of summon per defendant, one (original) goes to defendant, one goes to AUSA and one you will keep to file for return service, I think???.
Best wishes to all of us.

This question is for everyone who filed 1447 petition and, thus, knows the right procedure.
I am totally confused about the summons issue. It looks like that such a seemingly simple thing is so confusing. I feel like an idiot. Anyway, my question is. Should I have all the defendant names listed on the summon or should I issue one individual for each of the defendants? So far I've seen very contradictory postings here. Is there a RIGHT way of doing this? Please advice
Thank you all for advice and good luck

 

[lovingusa]

Hi olegb,
Looks to me it is different for different court.
I confirmed with my court (Detroit, Michigan), court clerk told me that only one name on each summon, I also confirmed her statement by checking the pacer. My confusion is about return service, because summon and return service is on one page back and front. So you must have three copies of summon per defendant, one (original) goes to defendant, one goes to AUSA and one you will keep to file for return service, I think???.
Best wishes to all of us.

Olegb,
you are right, Summons issue is so confusing:

1- I first filed saying:

Name
VS.

Michael Chertoff et al.

The Clerk responded by saying Summons not valid, name must be "THE SAME" as on the complaint, no "et al" can be used!

2- I resubmitted, all names on one summons, made few copies and waited for response

I got a response, only one was stamped, and the rest had the clerk's stamp(just the name) on them,

When I talked to Clerk to confirm I was told "because you put all names on the summons, and not one for each defendant, that's how it should be"

This was New Jersey, so it seems this is slightly different from one district to the other.

My advise:

Put all names on one summons, make 10 copies and go to clerk's office and see what they will say. I don't think they can deny your filing because of this, however if they do, they'll tell you what the right way is.

About the certificate of service, when you get all responses (return receipts/print-out from usps.com that letters were delivered/ signature or stamp from AUSA attorney's office) you 'll have to attach all these responses to certificate fo service and submit to court(Clerk's office), to proof that you served defendants,

Don't worry about anything, its a very confusing process, and remember, we are not experts, so its fair to keep asking and keep thinking something is missing,

BEST OF LUCK

LovingUSA

 

[Haddy]

Agreed

Olegb,
you are right, Summons issue is so confusing:

1- I first filed saying:

Name
VS.

Michael Chertoff et al.

The Clerk responded by saying Summons not valid, name must be "THE SAME" as on the complaint, no "et al" can be used!

2- I resubmitted, all names on one summons, made few copies and waited for response

I got a response, only one was stamped, and the rest had the clerk's stamp(just the name) on them,

When I talked to Clerk to confirm I was told "because you put all names on the summons, and not one for each defendant, that's how it should be"

This was New Jersey, so it seems this is slightly different from one district to the other.

My advise:

Put all names on one summons, make 10 copies and go to clerk's office and see what they will say. I don't think they can deny your filing because of this, however if they do, they'll tell you what the right way is.

About the certificate of service, when you get all responses (return receipts/print-out from usps.com that letters were delivered/ signature or stamp from AUSA attorney's office) you 'll have to attach all these responses to certificate fo service and submit to court(Clerk's office), to proof that you served defendants,

Don't worry about anything, its a very confusing process, and remember, we are not experts, so its fair to keep asking and keep thinking something is missing,

BEST OF LUCK

LovingUSA

Dear All My Great Friends,

I agree with people who say that it is District to District when laws concerning the filing of lawsuits are concerned... This is something I learned from my case... this is my version to calrify any confusions... I personally took nothing with me... at that time the clerk was helpful... she told me to fill out a summons... put all defendants name on it... she took it and got it signed and stamed and wrote 60 days on it... asked me to make copies and send to each defendant... now this is where I learned why different courts tell ou different local rules... different district courts have slighly different local rules to file a lawsuit... the clerk helped at that time but referred me back to "how to file lawsuit in District of MN court Pro Se package"... and was told that being a Pro Se I even need to learn how to take care of my lawsuit as they (clerks) cannot legally tell us what or what not to do... all district courts have these local rules to file a lwsuit Pro Se packages on their websites... So personally, I will not worry too much about how we do it as long as we try to do our best... write all defendants names on a summons and take to your District court along with your Complaint... mostly they take it look at it and if there is a chance and they are not too busy they sign stamp it right there and ask you to send copies to defendants... if different district courts have different take on this they will tell you right there what is wrong and how to fix it... they may not orally tell you there but may send you a letter in written what was wrong and what needs to be done... so basically please just be open and be flexible to the summons part of our Pro Se lawsuits... don't worry too much... because I have never seen a complaint being denied by a Judge because a "PRO SE" had to file their summons 2 time just because they did it wrong the first time... so I take it like something you learn from the process in your particular district court... and this is also what I learned... when I filed my Pro Se complaint and later found out on this forum that some district courts have their own seperate Pro Se Clerks specialized for Pro Se filers only I used to feel very jealous about it... but I think it comes with the geographical location you are at... if a court has tendency of getting too many different types of Pro Se filers they have separate Pro Se clerks to make sure that Pro Se Filers are being guided properly about filing their Pro Se packages... so basically my point is to not worry too much about the Summons... keep your self open to your local District rules... try to read the Pro Se package and try to understand it... if that confuses you a little... sooner or later you will find out from the clerks what to do because they have to ultimately tell you in the end what went wrong if anything went wrong and how to correct it... because basically you paid the court fee... so don;t worry too much about it... like some one earlier a page or 2 said that filing a lawsuit is like going thru a bumpy road... we not being lawyers can only learn about the process when we are in the process... so we are more worried about making mistakes... but really summons is not a big problem... just keep yourself open to any format your local district court tells you to do... I would be more care ful about the complaint than the summons... our summons clerks are checking so before they get it signed and stamped by a judge or magistrate they have to make sure that the summons is proper... the thing they don't check for us is the text in the Pro Se complaint... so as long as we are taking care of our complaints we should be fine... I hope I was able to put my point across... basic thing is not to worry too much about summons ... PLEASE... I respect every one's point of views... and actually I have never spoken about summons before because I feel that different Pro Se filers get different experiences with their local district courts... so we have to respect every one's experiences... some people on this forum are working thru their lawyers and their experiences would be different from mine... so the point is that I learn from them.. they learn from us... be open to learn and move on... and still be open to any modifications if needed to be made if our court clerks ask us to make... so I hope I have not hurt any one's feelings... apart from that we can always try to find some one on this forum who is from the same district court and ask about their experiences... my point again is that we'll be ok... don't worry too much over summons...

Good Luck...

 

[786riz]

Thank you so much Haddy. This is very good clarification. Now, I will not be worry about summons but to pay more attention to my complain.
Have a good day.

Dear All My Great Friends,

I agree with people who say that it is District to District when laws concerning the filing of lawsuits are concerned...

 

[happyball]

About the format of the Summons, Cover sheet and Complaint, etc.

Dear All My Great Friends,

I agree with people who say that it is District to District when laws concerning the filing of lawsuits are concerned...
keep your self open to your local District rules...
try to read the Pro Se package and try to understand it...
if that confuses you a little, sooner or later you will find out from the clerks what to do ...
I would be more care ful about the complaint than the summons...
our summons clerks are checking so before they get it signed and stamped by a judge or magistrate they have to make sure that the summons is proper... ...
apart from that we can always try to find some one on this forum who is from the same district court and ask about their experiences...
my point again is that we'll be ok... don't worry too much over summons...

Good Luck...

I agree with Haddy!

If you feel confusing when you fill your Cover Sheet, Summons, Certificate or Proof of Service, etc., the right ways to go are:

1. Follow the instructions of YOUR Civil Case Pro Se package;
2. Ask YOUR court clerk;
3. Ask the person who filed the Pro Se at the SAME district court with you
...

Best wishes!

 

[Geneva]

How many months of stuck NC for I-485

Hi, all:

First I thank you guy so much for sharing your experience and knowledge. It makes us a team.
After reading this thread from Page 1, I am so inspired to file my suit. I submitted my I485 in last June. I have a little concern that maybe it is too short for a pro se case. I search my district court (NYWD) and found no case of nature 890.
So is there anyone filed a case with NC shorter than 18 months?

Thanks a lot and Good luck to everybody!

 

[gzmbk1]

repercussion in suing the govt

Is there any reason to be worried in suing the government? Would there be any repercussion afterwards.

If I decide to work for the government and they do a background check, would there be any reason for it to show on my records and show as a negative?

any comments would be appreciated.

 

[GCWaitEB12005]

How to "withdraw" lawsuit??

I filed WOM on August 29, got my cards on Oct 10. How do I withdraw the case? Do I wait for the AUSA to file first?

What would appear better for the court records and future WOM cases in my district?

Thanks

 

[lenscrafterslen]

paperwork

Gurus,

I　just received a package that I requested from my district court. The package includes two articles whether and where I should file the suit; an instruction of how to procede, and a "request to proceed; in forma pauperis" form. This last form asks me to provide some personal information, but it does not look like the sample cover page that the OP of this post provided (where there are a lot of boxes to check etc).

Is this form the "cover page" or do I need to ask the court to send me one?

Thanks a lot!
lenscrafterslen

 

[rob waiter]

do not stress over this. Let the AUSA contact you. Otherwise, just
enjoy your new cards.

I filed WOM on August 29, got my cards on Oct 10. How do I withdraw the case? Do I wait for the AUSA to file first?

What would appear better for the court records and future WOM cases in my district?

Thanks