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

Doesn't make sense

aka808 said:
Since i last posted when i had my first Pre-Trial conference, i just received a letter from the USCIS requesting a "Follow-up" Interview next week. They have asked for tons of documentation from years 2000 to present.
A little history, i was married and my GC was marriage based...but filed for a divorce in 2005 before the N-400 application. THe marriage was is good-faith but did not work out..Nevertheless the n-400 was based on 5 years residency.
Not sure why the DO has asked for all of this documentation...but i have all old records so lets see. Not sure what to expect...but this Followup interview is after the AUSA told me the Pre-Trail last week that he would get the whole process wrapped up in 2 weeks or so....
Any thoughts? Maybe wish good luck ?
Click to expand...

They shouldn't ask for previous records. Most likely, the officer who is reviewing your case is thinking you are still married or something. Looking at USCIS, that wouldn't surprise me.

Never heard of questioning the past with N400 application based on 5 year GC.

Anyway good luck. Please keep us posted.
 
springbranch said:
They shouldn't ask for previous records. Most likely, the officer who is reviewing your case is thinking you are still married or something. Looking at USCIS, that wouldn't surprise me.

Never heard of questioning the past with N400 application based on 5 year GC.

Anyway good luck. Please keep us posted.
Click to expand...

Thanks Springbranch. I checked with my lawyer (who did my GC) and even he said that it is weird and that shouldn't have any bearing on this.
I wouldn;t be suprised at their process, considering you need to go to court and push them to do their jobs.....!

Will let you guys know.
 
Can Pro Se asks for Attorney fees??

Hi all,

Can we, as Pro Se, add the following in the prayer section of the complaint:

-Award the Plaintiff attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA"), as amended 5 U.S.C. § 504 and 28 U.S.C. § 2412;

Thanks.
 
Sweet_Maria said:
Hi all,

Can we, as Pro Se, add the following in the prayer section of the complaint:

-Award the Plaintiff attorney fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act ("EAJA"), as amended 5 U.S.C. § 504 and 28 U.S.C. § 2412;

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Because as Pro Se you don't hire an attorney, you can't ask for attorney's fee. But you can put as the last thing in your prayer the following sentence:
"In addition, Plaintiff prays for such further relief as this Honorable Court may deem just and proper".

If you win the lawsuit (i.e., you don't lose or it is not voluntarily dismissed), you can ask at least for your costs.
 
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sfdurrani said:
Hi Paz!
Can you guide me to this "RealsuperK's Opposition to Motion to Dismiss:" or post it here or guide me to the thread? I have submitted the WOM for green card and want to prepare for this motion in advance.
Click to expand...

Actually, RealsuperK's case was solved before he had to file anything in addition to his original complaint. But he was working in anticipation that he will need to continue the fight and he posted a document entitled "Plaintiff's Memorandum in response to defendants' answer. I attached this document because contains a lot of useful info which can be used if you need to write an Opposition to a Motion to Dismiss. RealSuperK was a formerly active member of this forum, with a lot of valuable contribution. My only remark is that according to FRCP, there is no such thing as a response to the answer of the defendants. Here is what I found in a Pro Se handbook:

Once the answer is filed, does the plaintiff have to file a response to it?

There is no such thing under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as a “Response to an Answer.” Even if you strongly disagree with the statements in the answer, there is no need to file a response. Under Rule 8(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, all statements in an answer are automatically denied by the other parties to the lawsuit.
 
aka808 said:
Since i last posted when i had my first Pre-Trial conference, i just received a letter from the USCIS requesting a "Follow-up" Interview next week. They have asked for tons of documentation from years 2000 to present.
A little history, i was married and my GC was marriage based...but filed for a divorce in 2005 before the N-400 application. THe marriage was is good-faith but did not work out..Nevertheless the n-400 was based on 5 years residency.
Not sure why the DO has asked for all of this documentation...but i have all old records so lets see. Not sure what to expect...but this Followup interview is after the AUSA told me the Pre-Trail last week that he would get the whole process wrapped up in 2 weeks or so....
Any thoughts? Maybe wish good luck ?
Click to expand...
USCIS can check any facts used in previous steps of AOS or any other immigration matter and use that against you if they find any discrepancy between the info you provided them previously and now, during this application process. However, this is a general rule, I don't see here the point when your application is based on 5-year residency. The only thing I can think of, is that they would try to challenge your green card application based on marriage to a US citizen, i.e., they will ask you to demonstrate that the marriage was based on good faith. If they can demonstrate that the marriage was only an arrangement to help you to get the GC, they can deny your N-400 application. I don't really want to scare you, these are just speculations and possibilities I tried to guess, why are they asking all the papers back from year 2000. But you should be prepared that they may challenge you on that basis. Hopefully, this second interview will be just a formality and you will get approved by the end of the interview.

And ... I wish you good luck!
 
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pre-trial conference

gurus,

i will go to my pre-trial conference next week. what should i expect? i have no idea what's gonna happen. is the purpose of the conference just to give both sides an opportunity to tell the judge what's going on?

other than the complaint that I ready have, what else i should prepare?

many thanks!
 
paz1960 said:
USCIS can check any facts used in previous steps of AOS or any other immigration matter and use that against you if they find any discrepancy between the info you provided them previously and now, during this application process. However, this is a general rule, I don't see here the point when your application is based on 5-year residency. The only thing I can think of, is that they would try to challenge your green card application based on marriage to a US citizen, i.e., they will ask you to demonstrate that the marriage was based on good faith. If they can demonstrate that the marriage was only an arrangement to help you to get the GC, they can deny your N-400 application. I don't really want to scare you, these are just speculations and possibilities I tried to guess, why are they asking all the papers back from year 2000. But you should be prepared that they may challenge you on that basis. Hopefully, this second interview will be just a formality and you will get approved by the end of the interview.

And ... I wish you good luck!
Click to expand...

Paz Thanks. I am aware of that...hence documentation previals and the fact that it was based on good faith and not a mere arrangement will be evident. Nothing scares me now...this is the last step hopefully it will be more fruitful then the past few months or the first interview.
 
lenscrafterslen said:
gurus,

i will go to my pre-trial conference next week. what should i expect? i have no idea what's gonna happen. is the purpose of the conference just to give both sides an opportunity to tell the judge what's going on?

other than the complaint that I ready have, what else i should prepare?

many thanks!
Click to expand...

I had my pre-trail two weeks ago. It is highly advisable getting to court atleast 15 - 20 mins early and meet the AUSA there, he will talk and disucss the case with you (don't expect this to happen), but it did happen with me. The court clerk will ask you to fill out your address and contact number if you are pro-se, and will fill you in on all the steps. They are normally helpful (knowing that you are pro-se). Take your filing with you in case you need to refer to it.
In most cases the judge will listen to the Government first and will then ask you to speak. IF the AUSA requests an extension, the judge will seek your approval, at which stage, depending if you like, you can agree but insist on a "definite timeline".
The whole process can take anywhere from 10 - 15 minutes depending on the court and cases before.

One piece of advise...Go strong, take notes, keep your ears open, and negogiate (if the option is available).....

Good Luck.
 
Finally I got my Oath Letter after waiting for 6 months

I went to the initial hearing this morning. I got my the oath letter from AUSA and I asked the court to dismiss the civil case. Today I also I got the oath letter in the mail. I have to wait another 3 weeks before taking oath.

Good Luck to everyone here ! I will post another note here after oath !!
 
initial hearing

Hello

I have my initial hearing on wednsday, I was prepering my arguments and in one of the defendants objection he argues that There was no statue or regulations wich imposes a deadline for the FBI to complete a criminal background check

any ideas about how to argue that , any thoughts would be very appreciated

Thank you
 
said904 said:
Hello

I have my initial hearing on wednsday, I was prepering my arguments and in one of the defendants objection he argues that There was no statue or regulations wich imposes a deadline for the FBI to complete a criminal background check

any ideas about how to argue that , any thoughts would be very appreciated

Thank you
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, this is true and this is the reason why there is so much controversy around the whole background check process.

In my opinion there are two directions along you can argue.
1. If this is a N-400 application and the lawsuit is based on 1447(b), USCIS has a clear obligation to adjudicate your case in less than 120 days after your interview. It is their problem, how to get the results of the background check within this timeframe. They would have to ask an expedited processing of your name check, when they realised that there is a chance that they will not able to adjudicate your application within the statue mandated timeframe. In order to prevent such situations, they stopped interviewing applicatns before the background check is complete. If they interviewed you, too bad (for them), they would have to make sure, that your background check is complete. According to the Mandamus and APA, the government agency has a clear, non-discretionary duty to adjudicate your application within a reasonable time. In this case according to 1447(b) this reasonable time is 120 days, anything more than that is unreasonable.

2. If your case is an AOS or a naturalization application but no interview yet, it is more difficult to argue that the delay in adjudicating your application or petition is unreasonable. Courts usually agreed that in such cases delays more than 1.5-2 years are unreasonable.
 
case approved

83 days after filing WOM, my case was approved. I got a phone call last week from AUSA. She told me that she got approval e-mails about my case and I am safe to dismiss the case then. I told her that I don't trust anyone now to sign any paper before I have the card in my hand. She said they need some time to make the plastic card. So I said I would sign a dismiss stipulation if I see something in writing that indicates my case was approved. So she kept working on that the last week. She called me this morning that she got the "approval page" ready to fax me now. Since I don't have a fax, she sent me an e-mail and I could see the "approved" seal dated on Nov. 20. I think I am going to sign the stipulation now. I don't feel 100% safe now as I haven't seen the real card. I just can't wait to share my good news with you guys here. "Thanks" can't express how I feel about this site. I appreciate all the help and encouragement I got here. I would like to share my experiences to help the people who are still in the middle of the fight. This is a great site with great people. Good luck to everyone.
 
Congratulations

jzdc said:
83 days after filing WOM, my case was approved. I got a phone call last week from AUSA. She told me that she got approval e-mails about my case and I am safe to dismiss the case then. I told her that I don't trust anyone now to sign any paper before I have the card in my hand. She said they need some time to make the plastic card. So I said I would sign a dismiss stipulation if I see something in writing that indicates my case was approved. So she kept working on that the last week. She called me this morning that she got the "approval page" ready to fax me now. Since I don't have a fax, she sent me an e-mail and I could see the "approved" seal dated on Nov. 20. I think I am going to sign the stipulation now. I don't feel 100% safe now as I haven't seen the real card. I just can't wait to share my good news with you guys here. "Thanks" can't express how I feel about this site. I appreciate all the help and encouragement I got here. I would like to share my experiences to help the people who are still in the middle of the fight. This is a great site with great people. Good luck to everyone.
Click to expand...

Congratulations Whooo. I knew you can do it. I remember your post when you were all worried about responding to Motion to dismiss. But you should be happy now you stayed to fight till last.

Enjoy your victory.
 
e-mail from AUSA

Finally, after some followup e-mail and two more phone calls I got an update from AUSA in the following e-mail:

***************
I received 3 contacts at FBI Hdqtrs and I am waiting for a reply on the
name of the agent assigned to your file. At that point, I will
coordinate the new fingerprints and discuss a date certain for
completion of the background, as well as the adjudication. I think we
are making progress.

Will you agree (stipulate) to a modest 30 day extension of the time to
respond to your Complaint? I will prepare the stipulation and request
your authorization to use your electronic signature for filing.

Please advise at your earliest opportunity. Thank you for the patience
and cooperation.

***************
I think that I have no choice than to agree to the 30 day extension (the judge would grant it anyway), at least I show them my goodwill and cooperation. I hope that the whole case will be over before the extension expires. The defendants answer would be due on Dec. 26.
 
update on my case

Hi, Paz and other friends:

AUSA filed a joint motion to dismiss today to the court. He agreed to put something like, "if the case is denied, the plaintiff can file amendment to the court within 60 days of this joint motion."

I am crossing my fingers and keep you guys updated.

Sky
 
jzdc said:
83 days after filing WOM, my case was approved. I got a phone call last week from AUSA. She told me that she got approval e-mails about my case and I am safe to dismiss the case then. I told her that I don't trust anyone now to sign any paper before I have the card in my hand. She said they need some time to make the plastic card. So I said I would sign a dismiss stipulation if I see something in writing that indicates my case was approved. So she kept working on that the last week. She called me this morning that she got the "approval page" ready to fax me now. Since I don't have a fax, she sent me an e-mail and I could see the "approved" seal dated on Nov. 20. I think I am going to sign the stipulation now. I don't feel 100% safe now as I haven't seen the real card. I just can't wait to share my good news with you guys here. "Thanks" can't express how I feel about this site. I appreciate all the help and encouragement I got here. I would like to share my experiences to help the people who are still in the middle of the fight. This is a great site with great people. Good luck to everyone.
Click to expand...
Great news, congratulations! You did the right thing requesting some written proof before you agree to dismiss your case.

You could not force the note and wait till your plastic GC arrives; you requested in your lawsuit to compel USCIS to adjudicate your case, not to compel them to send you the GC. But from what I saw on this forum in similar cases, the plastic GC arrived usually shortly after the approval.
 
thanks.

thanks aka808. that's great advice. can i know what happened in your case? did the AUSA asked for an extension? did you get to talk to your AUSA at all before the pre-trial date?

in my case, i have found out who he is and tried to contact him. but he never returned my calls.

aka808 said:
I had my pre-trail two weeks ago. It is highly advisable getting to court atleast 15 - 20 mins early and meet the AUSA there, he will talk and disucss the case with you (don't expect this to happen), but it did happen with me. The court clerk will ask you to fill out your address and contact number if you are pro-se, and will fill you in on all the steps. They are normally helpful (knowing that you are pro-se). Take your filing with you in case you need to refer to it.
In most cases the judge will listen to the Government first and will then ask you to speak. IF the AUSA requests an extension, the judge will seek your approval, at which stage, depending if you like, you can agree but insist on a "definite timeline".
The whole process can take anywhere from 10 - 15 minutes depending on the court and cases before.

One piece of advise...Go strong, take notes, keep your ears open, and negogiate (if the option is available).....

Good Luck.
Click to expand...
 
paz1960 said:
Finally, after some followup e-mail and two more phone calls I got an update from AUSA in the following e-mail:

***************
I received 3 contacts at FBI Hdqtrs and I am waiting for a reply on the
name of the agent assigned to your file. At that point, I will
coordinate the new fingerprints and discuss a date certain for
completion of the background, as well as the adjudication. I think we
are making progress.

Will you agree (stipulate) to a modest 30 day extension of the time to
respond to your Complaint? I will prepare the stipulation and request
your authorization to use your electronic signature for filing.

Please advise at your earliest opportunity. Thank you for the patience
and cooperation.

***************
I think that I have no choice than to agree to the 30 day extension (the judge would grant it anyway), at least I show them my goodwill and cooperation. I hope that the whole case will be over before the extension expires. The defendants answer would be due on Dec. 26.
Click to expand...

Good news Paz, the case seems to be moving
 
Hi Guys,
Today I filed the proof of service with District court of New Mexico. I had not received the FBI return receipt and was afraid that the court would not accept my document. But they did. When the clerk earlier mentioned that the court requires the "green slips" they meant the certified green receipts not the return receipts. Anyway I am done with that step. USA was served on 12/1/2006 so my clock has already started.
I had one question. I signed up for PACER today but found out that District Court of New Mexico is not listed on it. How can I know if some similar cases have been filed in this district court where I filed my WOM?

I-485 pending since 10/2004
WOM filed 11/22/2006
Summons mailed same day
USA served 12/1/2006
Proof of service filed 12/18/2006
 
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