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

[Bou]

Congrats!

Wenlock,

this is really great news! Congratulations! This's really very encouraging to all of us. I'm still waiting for judge's ruling on our OPP to MTD (filed through my attorney). I feel very frustrated, my AUSA already asked for expedition multiple times, but more than two months passed, still no word about my NC, don't know how long it takes for judge to rule after OPP, it's been more than 2 months now.

Finally I made it .......

All right fellows here I am writing this message that I don't know I saw so many of you wrote it many times on this forum and today is my day.

I got my Naturalized last week and I am now a citizen. Most of the people now a days might not know about me because I was in silent mode from last 2 months
on this forum.

I am one of very few people whose Citizenship was stalled due to pending Name check but I was never scheduled for interview. I know they stopped
interviewing people after that internal memo. They use to interview people for N-400 even name check is not complete before May 25th 2006. I was one of
person whose priority date was June 24th 2005 but I was still did not got interview. So in my case law suit based on 1447(b) was not a option.

I checked with many lawyers and people every one recommended me to not file lawsuit without interview done but I knew I had option for filing Writ of
Mandamus. I know many people filed Mandamus for pending I-485 (Green Card) but not for N-400 (without interview) only two people I know who filed it but
interestingly they both filed after me and got approved.

I filed my lawsuit in Nov 2006 and got my Naturalized yesterday. It was roller couster ride. A lots of ups and down. First I was not able to find any
lawyer in my area who will take case so I had to go Pro se. I am following this forum since March 2006 so I knew a lot of people were able to get cases
adjudicated after lawsuit and I learned alot too. In my case because 1447(b) was not option 120 days never got triggered now I had to wait atleast 1.5 year
before I can file suit and claim that delay in adjudication is unreasonable. My local DO was taking about 6 months for adjudication so I have to prove that
my delay is almost three times the current processing times to make my lawsuit strong.

I learned few cases where waits of around 12-14 months were considered reasonable delay. So I knew I need to plan things accordingly. I filed my suit in
Nov 2006 (17 months delay at that time) I knew with 60 days for defendents response and another 60 days in extentions will take me to around 22 months. I
can ask for another extension to respond to MTD and it will take me closer to 2 years and make it more convincing and stronger to prove in front of judge or
atleast I will get my inteview during the process.

Well I went through 3 extensions and then I got answer then I started discovery (that really helped speed up process) I was prepared for response to MTD but
never needed it thanks to my AUSA. He was really nice and very professional human being. He was not very helpful in start but once he learned back from FBI
that I do not have any negative background he decided to help me to come out of bureacracy black hole.

USCIS requested expediated name check request in Nov 2006. But FBI will not work on that. My name got hit in name check due to issue totally unrelated to
me and I had nothing to do with it. I do not feel necessary to go in details(please don't ask). Bottom line is after multiple expediated name check
requests and also written statement from FBI to USCIS. USCIS rejected to accept my name check results why I have no idea. The reason was they want to see
in the computer system it is cleared they do not want written answers from FBI( which is totally non sense)

During this whole process I went through 3 extensions many meetings, conversations and emails with AUSA. He worked with me and was very professional and
helpful. I asked for discovery process but he was not willing to work with me on discovery with out proper counsel. So I decided to use local lawyer who
never even heard of Mandamus. One of the reason was all the big law firms were asking me crazy money just to look at my complaint or talk to AUSA because I
was half way in law suit and they said I screwed up and it can cost me law suit. I was not willing to take no as answer and I knew I had more knowledge
about Mandamus then they do at least in my local area.

I gave all of the instructions to my lawyer about what we want to do in discovery and I told him if we have to go though MTD response I have it ready and he
wanted to help me because he wanted to learn about this process so it kind of worked out for both of us.

After answer of my complaint we started discovery. AUSA was against it but we pushed little hard. We served subpena throught process server to local FBI
office. ( I do not have that subpena I know you all will be interested in it but I know it only says that you are summoned to meet plaintiff counsel at ---- time on ---- date conversation will be witness by notary public and all answers will be used in court. I do not have copy of it). He paid witness fee and setup venue for reviewing name check process about
two weeks It was served from my attorney directly. Guess what subpena was served at 9:00 AM in morning and my name check was complete in one day Yes ONE
DAY. I recieved comfirmation from my lawyer that he received confirmation from AUSA that name check is clear and delievered to USCIS.

They scheduled me for interview on May 22nd 2007 at 8:00 AM. I showed up for interview and it went flawless. I volunteered for new pilot exam for
naturalization.

Here were questions asked

Name of president?
Name one thing only Federal Govt can do?
Who was president during World War II?
Name any native american tribe?
Who is house majority leader?
How many seats in senator?
Name one right only citizen are entitled too?
Name three branches of Govt?
Who was the father of nation?
Name single war americans fought in 1900s?

Interview officer did not asked single extra question to the point he did not even answered to my "Good Morning" (kinda cold)

Only asked three things
Green Card
Selective Services card
Passport

Nothing else total it took him about 20 minutes I was out at 8:20 am.

By 8:52 AM I received call from AUSA and my attorney that I am approved and he sent me fax copy to my email.
Scheduled me for Oath on June 14th 2007.

Now I am Citizen.

Case dismissed some time first week for June. I never paid attention because I already have approval notice.

Trust me this whole thing was great experience of patience. I was at times very low and depressed but trust me I was never pessimistic. I know I have nothing to hide and I can get this thing done. Infect I learned many things during this whole process about keeping your self focused during stress times it the key.

Thanks to many many many members on this forum from whom I learned a lot. I do not want to name members I learnt from every single from of you. I thank you all.

YOU ALL ROCK. Trust me if you stay focused and prepare properly and weigh your options right I think you can succeed at the end. Some people do get unlucky but do not get dishearten.

I will be around for some time for answering your questions. Sorry for late news because I was extremely busy at work other wise I would have posted this great news earlier. I know you wanted to know every thing so I wanted to post every thing in detail.

At the end I believe I spent more then 300 hours on the whole thing preparing and researching many sleepless nights.

 

[shvili]

FP notice and typo in statue #

There're good news and there're bad news The good news is, today we received a CIS letter with a fingerprint appointment for my husband-they woke up after a 3-years-long sleep! (From reading members' posts I think it means they actually started to work on it).This is a good news.

The bad news is, another member (-thank you again!) found a typo in my Venue section which resulted in quoting a non-existent statue! This is Murphy's law in action! (-"when you think everything's going according to a plan, you're usually wrong" ) The silly part is, I checked all the statues I quoted in my complaint and this is obviously a typo that I missed (-losing a digit) while editing other parts of the doc. It didn't get my attn. 'cause sec. 1447 is in title 8, but sec. 1391(e) belongs to title 28!

My rhethorical question is, "to amend or not to amend"??? It's obvious to anyone that the mistake is a typo (and I saw hundreds of typos even in judges' rulings!) But according to what I also read, if (and that may not even happen!)-our AUSA catches it, he may try to cause some problems. The Venue section is otherwise correct, and by rules, we don't even have to quote a statue-so AUSA can't MTD on the grounds of improper venue. So anyone, please comment: do you think it warrants an amendment?

For anyone who ran into this problem, here is the rules on "how to amend a complaint" that I googled (it was also posted before) (-see the attachment). It's from NY but I believe rules are uniform (since nothing in CA rules says otherwise) According to it, if we decide to amend, we serve AUSA -he hasn't replied so we don't need his permission. Do we serve by 1st class mail all our defendants? This is not clear from these rules, nor from CA Pro se handbook.

 

[wenlock]

Thanks to all members like you for helping me and keeping my spirits high.
About discovery I know my AUSA was not agreeing to discovery and when with the help of my lawyer we informed him that we are planning to serve subpeana he kind of told us that it is bold move. He said that you might can get in trouble too if some one from local FBI take it personally or ticked off and try to add some more road blocks. No doubt it was tough decision to make and I kind of got so tired of dealing with this whole thing that I decided I don't care any more.

Now one important thing that we did in discovery was we did not ask for any personal information about my name check. We asked for all internal memo standard operating procedures for name check process. Dates related to all tasks in relation to my name check. How adjudicator requested information and who is the person handling name check at FBI. What progress he had made in last two years.

We asked for all information that was purely procedure based. Our goal was to get this information first then go more specific by serving interogatories later but we never got to that point.

I think one key information that I was able to get from my AUSA was that in which FBI office my file is located. As I stayed at same place in last seven years so it was my local FBI office.

I would recommend to any one who already has answer to his complaint or whose MTD is denied by court then ask for discovery.

I think with discovery process you can actually get attention of FBI resources and instead of they going and completing your discovery requests they as well finish your name check. But remember if they have any bad information about you then you can get into serious trouble too.

At the end you know best about you and your background so weigh your options accordingly.

 

[wenlock]

There're good news and there're bad news The good news is, today we received a CIS letter with a fingerprint appointment for my husband-they woke up after a 3-years-long sleep! (From reading members' posts I think it means they QUOTE]

Shivili don't worry it is not a big deal. Judge when issue scheduling order they also mention last day to amend complaint. You can do that after that order or you can file "motion for leave to amend the complaint". Now if defandants file MTD before Judges Scheduling order then you might have little issue.

You attach your original complaint as exhibit. If motion to amend if granted your complaint get replaced with amended one. You might have to serve defendants again.

 

[wenlock]

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing what you encountered! Enjoy being a citizen

It seems in your case, it's required to engage a lawyer in the state of subpoena? can no longer do it pro se?

Yes I think in discovery scenario it is wise to have attorney. Atleast that is what I think. Suppose if defandants show up for discovery I am not sure what questions I will ask them in front of witness. Also I do not know legal process enough for taking dispositions and documenting too. What is acceptable and what is not? Some attorney who have dealt with litigation process will be a lot more knowledgable.

 

[SLIS]

Thanks to all members like you for helping me and keeping my spirits high.
About discovery I know my AUSA was not agreeing to discovery and when with the help of my lawyer we informed him that we are planning to serve subpeana he kind of told us that it is bold move. He said that you might can get in trouble too if some one from local FBI take it personally or ticked off and try to add some more road blocks. No doubt it was tough decision to make and I kind of got so tired of dealing with this whole thing that I decided I don't care any more.

Now one important thing that we did in discovery was we did not ask for any personal information about my name check. We asked for all internal memo standard operating procedures for name check process. Dates related to all tasks in relation to my name check. How adjudicator requested information and who is the person handling name check at FBI. What progress he had made in last two years.

We asked for all information that was purely procedure based. Our goal was to get this information first then go more specific by serving interogatories later but we never got to that point.

I think one key information that I was able to get from my AUSA was that in which FBI office my file is located. As I stayed at same place in last seven years so it was my local FBI office.

I would recommend to any one who already has answer to his complaint or whose MTD is denied by court then ask for discovery.

I think with discovery process you can actually get attention of FBI resources and instead of they going and completing your discovery requests they as well finish your name check. But remember if they have any bad information about you then you can get into serious trouble too.

At the end you know best about you and your background so weigh your options accordingly.

Thanks, wenlock! This is very helpful!

Did you file a motion to initiate discovery? I guess I'm not very sure how to get that started. My AUSA does not agree to discovery, of course. In the joint status report we filed a while back, AUSA said the government is exempt from discovery and I said I want discovery. I guess I'm a bit unclear as to how to get started on the discovery at this point. Did you not wait for an order from court and served subpeana on your own?

 

[wenlock]

Can "Negligent Driving" traffic ticket get your N-400 case rejected?
This would be important information for me before deciding to go with WOM. Why force the Govt to take action if it is only going to result in rejection of the application?

It depends if total sentence for the offence is more than one year then yes it will hurt you but if sentence is less then one year you should be ok. It is wise to check with immigration attorney in this case.

In case sentence it is more then one year then you might have to wait 5 years from that time of offense for meeting statutory requirements.

 

[Moe9541]

Here is opinion from 10th Circuit issued in Kowalczyk v. INS, 245 F.3d 1143, 1149-50 (10th Cir. 2001):
"Unlike the INA, the APA includes a judicially enforceable duty to proceed within a reasonable time. See 5 U.S.C. 555(b), 706(1). See also Cutler v. Hayes, 818 F.2d 879, 894_900 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (remanding for district court to determine whether FDA's delay violated the requirement to act within a reasonable time and discussing factors to be considered by the district court in assessing the claim of unreasonable delay)."

Thanks lazycis for your kind response.
do you know of any similare case or thread that i can look at?
I forgot to mention that i didn't even have an interview with them, they sent me the interview letter and then two days later they sent me a cancellation letter of the interview.

thanks

 

[andrew_sun]

What I can do? AUSA didnot answer Order of show causes

Dear all,

For my I-485 WOM, the defendants' answere for judge's Order of Show Cause is due by June 22. But so far I did not receive any answer from AUSA and I checked PACER every day for my case.

Last Friday, I called our AUSA office. I do not know who is my AUSA and they refused to check my case number to find out who is my AUSA. They told me to be patient!

What can I do in this situation? Should I send a motion to court to remind they Defendants did not answer the Order? If yes, anyone has a format for this kind motion? Because the Order requires me to reply before July 10, I really do not know how to reply the non-exist "answer".

Thank you,
Andrew

-----------------------------------------------
My WOM status update:
5/23/2007: submit complaint+exhibits to court;
5/29/2007: served summons+complaint to defendants by USPS certified mails;
5/31/2007: received "show cause" order for defendants and me.

-----------------------------------------------
I-140/I-485 RD: 7/2003 concurrent (EB-2, China);
I-140 AD: 11/2003;
FP (2003-2006): submitted 3 times;
EAD (2003-2007): 4 cards;
AP (2004-2007): 4 documents

1) Prepare opposition to MTD, AUSA will try to dismiss your complaint.
2) Do not worry about it, court and AUSA do not use e-mail to communicate with pro se.
3) Look up your case in Pacer, it should have info about your AUSA. It may be too early right now. You can also call AUSA office and ask, but again, it may be too early.

 

[wenlock]

Dear all,

For my I-485 WOM, the defendants' answere for judge

They will respond to court order trust me.

Relax bro don't worry they will respond to your complaint. Remember you are suing Govt they do not have to abide by same rule that you have to. Even if the delay in responding you can not do any thing. You are entitled to file summary Judgement but that will not work if defandants are US govt agencies.

You can not force AUSA to talk to you. It is all based on them if they like they can talk to you but they are not obligated. I would not push that hard to get in touch with them. Once they file answer, MTD or extension in response you will know who is representing your case from defendants side.

You can contact them after that. Sit back and relax prepare for MTD response.

Always stay one step ahead that is key for winning this game. You filed complaint start working on MTD response. Hope for the best prepare for the worst. Keep close eye on similar cases in your district and see if you find any recent favourable decision mention it in your MTD response.

Even if you find any unfavourable then read MTD from defendants and see how plaintiff failed to respond properly that might have caused him lawsuit. Highlight those facts in your MTD response.

I have seen cases where some times defandents took as long as six months to respond to complaint so hang in tight.

 

[lazycis]

Thanks lazycis for your kind response.
do you know of any similare case or thread that i can look at?
I forgot to mention that i didn't even have an interview with them, they sent me the interview letter and then two days later they sent me a cancellation letter of the interview.

thanks

In my understanding, wenlock was in the same situation as you and won. Ask wenlock about the details. My case is a bit different, but the common question is how to show that the delay is unreasonable.

 

[lazycis]

Dear all,

For my I-485 WOM, the defendants' answere for judge's Order of Show Cause is due by June 22. But so far I did not receive any answer from AUSA and I checked PACER every day for my case.

Last Friday, I called our AUSA office. I do not know who is my AUSA and they refused to check my case number to find out who is my AUSA. They told me to be patient!

What can I do in this situation? Should I send a motion to court to remind they Defendants did not answer the Order? If yes, anyone has a format for this kind motion? Because the Order requires me to reply before July 10, I really do not know how to reply the non-exist "answer".

Thank you,
Andrew

-----------------------------------------------
My WOM status update:
5/23/2007: submit complaint+exhibits to court;
5/29/2007: served summons+complaint to defendants by USPS certified mails;
5/31/2007: received "show cause" order for defendants and me.

-----------------------------------------------
I-140/I-485 RD: 7/2003 concurrent (EB-2, China);
I-140 AD: 11/2003;
FP (2003-2006): submitted 3 times;
EAD (2003-2007): 4 cards;
AP (2004-2007): 4 documents

That's standard AUSA approach - respond at the last minute so that you have less time to prepare. They cannot ignore the court order, if they do, they are in serious trouble. You do not have to wait for AUSA to work on you response.

 

[gtao]

File WOM for my I-485

Hi,

I did an infopass last friday and knew I am stuck in NC by FBI after waing for 2 years. I want to know what the chance is to win in Boston area if I file lawsuit to FBI/USCIS. Thanks for your reply.

 

[wenlock]

Thanks lazycis for your kind response.
do you know of any similare case or thread that i can look at?
I forgot to mention that i didn't even have an interview with them, they sent me the interview letter and then two days later they sent me a cancellation letter of the interview.

thanks

This is common practice they schedule you for interview then when adjudicator afficer review your file few days back before interview they realise name check is not complete so they deschedule interview.

How long you are waiting ? You have to see in your district for favourable decisions. Tell me your district?

Review these attached cases in all of these USCIS did not schedule interview for N-400.

These are good starting point

 

[shvili]

There're good news and there're bad news The good news is, today we received a CIS letter with a fingerprint appointment for my husband-they woke up after a 3-years-long sleep! (From reading members' posts I think it means they QUOTE]

Shivili don't worry it is not a big deal. Judge when issue scheduling order they also mention last day to amend complaint. You can do that after that order or you can file "motion for leave to amend the complaint". Now if defandants file MTD before Judges Scheduling order then you might have little issue.

You attach your original complaint as exhibit. If motion to amend if granted your complaint get replaced with amended one. You might have to serve defendants again.

Wenlock,

thank you for the advise. At this point, though, I am wondering wehether this typo even warrants amending a complaint. Suppose I don't amend it. The worst case is, AUSA notices it . But he can't MTD on the ground of a wrong venue because I explained in complaint that the venue is proper because "most facts giving rise to the complaint occured in this district, Plaintiff and defendant reside in this district", etc. So legally speaking, I did not even have to quote the statue, according to many sampled docs and the pro se hanbook. So the fact I quoted it wrong is not very relevant. If AUSA complains, I reply to court: "yes, Your Honor, there is a typo. The correct statue is #28." So that is probably not going to make a judge too mad and it will be the end of it. right? I'll have to think of it a little more before deciding...

What are your thoughts on not amending it at all? Also, if other seniors have time/ ideas please comment.

Thank you!

 

[ncblackhole]

Its Over For Me...almost !!!!

Thanks Guys for all your help and support. I have been a silent reader of this thread most of the time. Friday I received 2 magical emails about my Green Card approval and yesterday I got my welcome notice in mail.

I had written to First Lady in the Past and then I got a letter from FBI saying that my name check was processed and submitted to USCIS headquarters in Washington DC.

I was hoping for the worst.. I was in the middle of preparing my case and I went to Federal court in Philadelphia and had collected everything required and was almost 2-3 days away from filling my WOM.. but then this magic happened..

I guess sometimes things happen unexpectedly and for the good at times..

I feel grateful of this forum where I learned a lot. I have won one WOM for my wife a year ago but this time I was gonna file for my self. I learned about my first case from Publicus. He told me what to do and how to do. At that time it was easy, just file the case and then just wait for things to happen. Also it was N400 case which was much more stronger than AOS. I still remember those days of pain and agony. I guess I am being nostalgic.

Anyway, I want to thank you all for making this a wonderful thread and helping people fight against injustice.

I hope I don't have to deal with USCIS for another 3 years..

 

[lazycis]

Hi,

I did an infopass last friday and knew I am stuck in NC by FBI after waing for 2 years. I want to know what the chance is to win in Boston area if I file lawsuit to FBI/USCIS. Thanks for your reply.

Are you waiting for a GC or citizenship? I've been following MA cases as it's my Circuit. From what I see, MA is a good place to file a lawsuit. There is not a lot of wins, because plaintiffs get what they want before court issues an opinion.

 

[lazycis]

I guess sometimes things happen unexpectedly and for the good at times..

I feel grateful of this forum where I learned a lot. I have won one WOM for my wife a year ago but this time I was gonna file for my self. I learned about my first case from Publicus. He told me what to do and how to do. At that time it was easy, just file the case and then just wait for things to happen. Also it was N400 case which was much more stronger than AOS. I still remember those days of pain and agony. I guess I am being nostalgic.

Anyway, I want to thank you all for making this a wonderful thread and helping people fight against injustice.

I hope I don't have to deal with USCIS for another 3 years..

Congratulations! It's so encouraging to hear good news on the forum. I believe all our efforts are already paying off as we can see Congress is trying to do something regarding the USCIS_FBI Name Check mess. It's good for the country when people are acting instead of just sitting, waiting and doing nothing.

 

[worried2007]

i have a question and i feel one of u would have an answer as u guys sound like attorneys.

i went to my citzenship interview and passed my test however the officer wrote on my N652 that a decision cannot be made awaiting original file which is the A-file to be transfered to the DO.

my name check cleared however what the DO is saying is that they requested my file twice and no response .

when can i start thinking about filing a lawsuit?

is 120 days after me apssing the interview suffiecient or should i wait a year if i dont see my oath letter?

 

[birdie]

WOM still works!

Filed WOM for I-485 in Jan 07, Northern District of California, pro se
Went to Court for MTD in April, MTD denied by judge
Filed motion for summary judgement in May
Got approval on the date that AUSA had to file opposition to my motion

Good luck to everyone!