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

needsolution said:
For those who have already filed their lawsuits, I was given a notice by court "it is your obligation to serve the following "Notice of Right to Consent to Disposition of a Civil Case by a United States Magistrate Judge" and the attached consent form upon the defendants with the complaint and summons. Was I supposed to send this notice along with the complaint and summons to the defendants? Nobody told me so. Is this optional or required to do it? What is a magistrate judge anyways? Is it a good idea to accept one? Someone please answer, thanks

Don't panic, just make a copy of the documents and send them to the US attorney's office. Make sure you file a Certificate of Service with the District court. I attached a copy.
 
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Everyone, here is the Mandamus that I served yesterday to FBI, DHS and USCIS. The clerk told me to make 4 sets, 1 for the Judge, send one to DHS and USCIS all in one filing, the next one to the FBI i.e Alberto Gonzales and then the last one to the disctricts US Disctrict Attorney (don't ask why)

https://www.wazzuptech.com/I485Mandamus.doc

One thing though. Make your case air tight. Also there is a link that you might want to look at

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0497.xml

This is going to be my next step.

Also what was finally decided about the HR 4437 ? Reason I ask this is becasue all you are planning to do will be moot as that Bill is very dangerous and can mess all legal immigrants and there will be no judicial support if that goes thru ?
 
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vinneygh said:
Public,

Would you please tell us what are steps for taking file a Mandamus action from first step to the end (no details)? I like to have a complete picture of procedures. I saw a lot of info here Which was very helpful. But I have no idea where should start and what are going to be my other steps to comply with court procedures. I like to sue INS with myself.

Thank You


Steps to take to file a lawsuit:


1. Contact your Federal District Court and ask for a Civil Case Pro Se package.
2. Read it and follow the instructions.
3. Prepare a lawsuit on Microsoft word. Print it and sign it.
4. Get a Civil Cover sheet and fill it out.
5. Call the court and ask to speak to the clerk...explain your situation and listen for advice.
6. Either mail in or drop off the papers [complaint (with exhibits if any) + cover sheet]
7. The court will send you a summons with your case number.
8. Make copies of the summons and your complaint. (one for each defendant and an extra copy for the US attorney in your district)
9. Put the case # on all copies.
10. Serve the complaint + summons + exhibits if any via CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED on all defendants and the US atty office. Call the US ATTORNEY and get their address and the right department you should send your complaint to. (read the memo called whom to serve in my first post)
11. Wait for the return receipt. The 60-day count starts from the date shown on the receipt received from the US atty.
12. File the return receipt with the court, and send a copy to the US atty office.
13. From here, everytime you file something with the court, send a copy to the US attorney and file a Certificate of service with the court. (see p.10 of this thread for an example)
14. 2 weeks before the expiration of the deadline, call the US atty, introduce yourself, and ask about your case.
15. Hopefully the name check will be cleared, and you'll be a citizen within 2 to 3 months of filing the suit.
 
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Questions for Publicus

1. What did you do after you received your return receipt cards in the mail?

2. When and how and to whom did you send your "consent to disposition of a magistrate judge"

3. Did you send it with your original Summons and lawsuit to the defendants or afterwards?

4. If you sent the "consent to disposition of a magistrate judge" afterwards, did you attach a copy of the summons?

5. Did you just send it to only the US attorney or to all defendants?

6. If you sent your "consent to disposition of a magistrate judge" after you served your original petition with summons,
Does the 60 days restart from the date the U.S. attorney receives your "consent to disposition of a magistrate judge"?
 
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website

For those who don't know much about these matters (like myself) I found this site where you can get valuable info about, federal circuit courts, federal district courts, how to access PACER, etc.

http://www.uscourts.gov/courtlinks/index.html
 
needsolution said:
Publicus,

Do the Divine and Chertoff copies have to be mailed to General Counsel? I did not know about that. Is it ok if we mailed them directly to Divine and Chertoff rather than sending them to General Counsel?

You mail it to:

Michael Chertoff
Office of the General Counsel
US Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528​
 
questions for Publicus

Questions for Publicus

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. What did you do after you received your return receipt cards in the mail?

2. When and how and to whom did you send your "consent to disposition of a magistrate judge"

3. Did you send it with your original Summons and lawsuit to the defendants or afterwards?

4. If you sent the "consent to disposition of a magistrate judge" afterwards, did you attach a copy of the summons?

5. Did you just send it to only the US attorney or to all defendants?

6. If you sent your "consent to disposition of a magistrate judge" after you served your original petition with summons,
Does the 60 days restart from the date the U.S. attorney receives your "consent to disposition of a magistrate judge"?
 
Wonder Boy said:
Hi Publicus and others. I will be filing writ of mandamus on Saturday this week. I have few more questions. I send one copy of my complaint to Secetary of DHS who is Chertoff, 1 copy to USCIS director, I dont know his name, 1 copy to USCIS district Director of newark Office and 1 copy to U.S Attorney, is it right?. Publicus do you have the sample of I-485 Civil Cover Sheet.......and yah Do I have to attach all my paper works such as interview letter etc with my complaint?
Sorry I got one more question. I guess I dont have to send complaint to defendants rather I will have to send summons which will be issued by court to defendants is it right?.


Many thanks

Rafiq

You can attach as many exhibits as you like to make your case strong. see below for a copy of civil cover sheet.

File the case with the court first, then when they give you the summons, send them with a copy of everything you filed with the court (complaint +exhibits) to the defendatns and local US atty.

Robert Divine is the head of CIS.
 
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Here is a text of my Mandamus Complaint which I have filed in NC Middle district Court on October 20, 2005. I am posting it in a Word format so that anybody could use it as a template and don't have to type it all over. :)

As for a disclaimer: I am an engineer, not a lawyer. I am not in depth familiar with all aspects of court system. I studied them as I typed my Complaint - so use it on your own risk!

Good luck and Happy New Year!
 
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vulpasin said:
I have a question for Mr. "PUPLICUS" too: I'm waiting for the answer from FBI (FOIPA) for almost a month now. I have the feeling that I may never receive one, even though I have a respose with a registration number from them that they received my request.
In case I sue them (along with USCIS, et al) this will work in my favor (not receiving the answer for FOIPA) or I should follow-up and insist in getting a response?

Well, the FOIA and the Mandamus or Petition for a Hearing under 1447b are two different things. You should first check on the FOIA from the FBI. So far, I never heard of any huge delays in their answer. Call Debbie Beatty at 202-324-6182, ask her about the FOIA. FBI is good with respecting deadlines regarding FOIA, so this is strange. The FOIA department fax # is (202)-324-3752.

Let me know what they tell you...
 
vulpasin said:
The letter they sent me, on December 06, 2005, says:

"This acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information-Privacy Acts (FOIPA) request to the FBI. The FOIPA number above has been assigned to your request."
"We are searching the indices to our central records system at FBI Headquarters for the information you requested, and will inform you of the results as soon as possible."


I think the FOIPA is helpful also for Petition for a Hearing under 1447b, cause it shows to the Judge that your FBI NC is not an issue so is no reason for delay to "complete the Name Clearance."

Considering that their letter (FBI's) is dated 12.06.2005 should I wait a little bit more or should I call the number you just gave me?

Vulpasin, that's the same letter I received from them. You said you sent the FOIA about a month ago. That sounds about right. You should receive something soon. After a month they send you the above letter, then in two weeks you get the NO Records response. That's what happened to me.

The No Records will indeed prove to the Judge that the delay is unreasonable since you have no records indiced to your name...That's WHY it is always a good idea to attach the FOIA response with your petition.
 
Thanks Vulpasin for this link: http://www.rootlaw.com/n040510.htm.

It in particular shows that at least some lawyers prefer Petition over Mandamus... so far I never heard of a professional lawyer opinion like this.

This site in particular says:

"The judicial relief can come in two forms:
1) An adjudication of the naturalization application in court and by the court, or
2) A remand to CIS for immediate adjudication"

and then:

"In many cases ... you will likely want to ask the court to decide the application, rather than submit to the delays associated with further agency proceedings"

Is this particular judicial relief is what's under extensive discussion and mostly recommended here?
 
olgat, you're right, I used his name and SF office address.

I filed the complaint in person and was assigned the case number and the judge on the spot.

The clerk took the check, two copies of complaint (1 orginal+1 copy), one orginal cover sheet, one copy of Summon (with all the defendents' address in one single summon).

I got my own copy of complaint stamped, and 5 copies of summon stamped. A booklet of Dispute Resolution Procedures that should be sent to the defendents also.

Now comes to the technical part of serving the defendents. The clerk was not very helpful at that point, just told me I need to have someone else older than 18 to serve the defendents. I ask her, if I send them by certified mail with return receipt. I didn't get a straight answer, she just tell me to look in the rules. Anyone can kindly look at the form that is attached to the summon and give me your thought.
I believe I need to check "Other" and specify by mail with all the receipt received attached to it. Then I should ask my friend to sign the paper since I myself can not be the server to executed. Is that right?

Thanks
 
Oh My God….my Lawsuit Has Been Dismissed (Story of a Warrior - Must read)

OH MY GOD….MY LAWSUIT HAS BEEN DISMISSED

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Finally, FINALLY, PUBLICUS MARCUS AURELIUS IS A CITIZEN OF THESE UNITED STATES. HAHAHAHAHAHA…GUYS I CANNOT BELIEVE IT. I MADE IT. YES…YES…YES.
As a member of this forum I can say to you: Victory is sweet, and as a United States Citizen, I can declare: USCIS IS DEFEATED, THE WAR IS OVER.

Fortune Favors the Bold

From the days of Alexander the Great, till the days of PUBLICUS :D, this saying has proven itself to be true over and over again. Everyone knows my story. Everyone knows that I’ve been waiting for over three years for my case to be adjudicated. My naturalization application have been lost twice, my interview was cancelled twice, and my life was put on hold. Everyone I knew in real life told me to wait. Everyone told me it was a lost cause, that there was nothing I could do. I was hopeless and depressed. But something inside me refused to give up. I refused to let go.

When I found out about the 120-days rule, I knew it was my salvation. CIS conducted my interview in Feb 2005. I was ready to sue them in June 2005 but some personal issues caused me to move. As soon as I settled, I set sight on the lawsuit and I did it. Everyone I talked to advised me to get a lawyer. But I refused, I decided to follow my inner-voice which told me to stay away from the band of chicken and fight for my rights on my own. I read some lawsuits, educated myself, and decided I can do this. Therefore I filled by myself. I was by the way, the FIRST member of this forum to represent himself in court. I knew many were watching my case, trying to learn as much as possible, and see what would the outcome be. GUYS IT IS WORTH IT. MY LAWSUIT TOOK LESS THAN THREE MONTHS. How long do you think I would have waited if I did not sue?

THE BUSIEST FRIDAY IN MY LIFE


I have spoken with some members on Saturday, and I feel terribly sorry for not telling them about my Oath Ceremony on Monday. But please know that when you had two interviews cancelled, and had your file being lost twice, you tend not to believe in Miracles. Everything happened so fast. It started with a phone call from the Assistant US attorney informing me that the second name check of my new name has been completed and that USCIS will schedule me an oath ceremony as soon as possible. Minutes later the US attorney informs me that the lawsuit must be dismissed for USCIS to adjudicate the case. Without the dismissal, nothing can be done since the Jurisdiction belongs to the court. I wasn’t sure about just dismissing the case since my level of trust in CIS was weak, so I asked the US attorney to add a clause to the language of the dismissal stipulation to protect myself: “In Case Plaintiff is not naturalized by January 31, 2006, the case will revert back to the Court who will then have jurisdiction over the matter.” I signed the stipulation, and my case and hard work were dismissed in a matter of minutes. (I felt a little bit sad about that) Later, I received a phone call form a CIS officer who informed me that they are going to fax me the Oath letter, scheduled for January 9, 2006. I am in disbelief. I give her the number, and 10 minutes later I received the fax. I am about to die of happiness. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was ecstatic, happy, wanted to cry, fly, I was feeling every happy human emotion in one moment. It is important to notice that the CIS officer told me before she hang up: “Drive safely!” I almost cried. :( CIS telling me to drive safely. This doesn’t happen everyday. She sounded like mom.

THE OATH CEREMONY


The Oath was on Monday @ 2PM. I took two days off. I decided to drive up there on Sunday afternoon. The Ceremony was 5 hours away from where I live. I spent the night in a Hotel, two blocks away from the convention center where the ceremony is being held. Needless to say that I spent the night doing my reconnaissance of the building. I knew where I had to be in the next day.
I couldn’t sleep that night. I swear I woke up every 30 minutes. I went to bed at 3 AM and woke up at 7AM. I had breakfast, and drove around the city for awhile. I also went to a Fine Cigar store, and bought me a Robusto Bolivar Churchill Cigar. I called it, my victory Cigar. I DEFEATED CIS AND ITS ARMADA. I am this forum’s Simon Bolivar. :D At NOON SHARP, I was back in the Hotel, where I took a shower and prepared for my oath. I wore my best clothes: A dark navy suit, with a powerful red tie, a white shirt, with silver French cufflinks and black shoes. A white handkerchief in the vest’s pocket completed the picture. I was ready for the day of days. I went there at 1:15 pm, and stood in line for almost an hour. The door opened and I got ready to face another CIS challenge. My last challenge as an Alien. My last encounter with CIS as an immigrant.

THE FINAL CHALLENGE

At 2:10 pm, I was at the door. A CIS officer checked my oath letter and noticed the answer to question four: “Have you been arrested, charged, indicted, convicted, fined or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, including traffic violations?” She asked me if I brought documentation regarding this point. I told her: Yes. When I went to my line, an officer handling the line next to mine refused a person in front of me. At that moment, a solemn and grave spirit hanged around me. I knew at the time that the journey was not over yet. My smile disappeared, and I became extremely focused. While waiting in line, I studied everyone’s encounter with the officers. When I got to my officer, she asked me about number 4. Her first question was: When was your interview. I replied, Feb 2005. She said what happened here: I said I had two tickets, one was dismissed and one was paid. The next thing she did, caused me to really panic.
 
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Part 2

THE LAST HOURS

My last hours as a permanent resident, were mixed with emotions. On one hand I was very happy to finally reach this point, but on the other hand there was a strange feeling about having to give up my Green Card and current status for a new and better one. My final interaction with CIS officer added another emotion: that of Paranoia.

When I answered the Officer that I have received two tickets, she gave me back my Green Card, and reached below her to pick up another form. When new forms get involved, I get paranoid. While she was writing on the form, my head was running at the speed of light thinking about different outcomes, and what I can do. Finally I couldn’t hold it and I said: “IS THERE A PROBLEM OFFICER?” in a very relaxed manner she replied: “No, just a supervisor have to approve this now.” So I told myself: This is just great…I don’t believe this. People behind me are being seated, and I, I have to talk to a supervisor, what an Omen. I went to line 10 to see the supervisor who was looking angry. He was already dealing with two people and making phone calls to check their cases up. He asked them to move to the side, and asked me to approach him. I came to him with the widest smile I ever put on my face. My face muscles still hurt from that smile. I greeted him asking: How are you Sir? He replied: FINE! What is the problem here? I explain the issue, and every time I said something he said: “YOU WERE DRIVING WITHOUT A SEATBELT?” YOU DID THIS, YOU DID THAT…I told him it was all taken care of, here are the court orders. He made it feel like I was in trial. Finally, he just stopped talking and kept reading the paper for like two minutes. Just imagine how I felt during those two minutes. It was like being in front of some Middle-Ages King who will say: Cut this guy’s head, OR let him live.

FINALLY, FINALLY, he said: Can I keep these copies…I said: Fuck YEAH MAN. Well these Were not really my exact words, but you get the point. :D I said: “Yes.” He said, ok, just go back to your officer and she will take care of you. I went back dragging my feet. I was so exhausted at that point. Now did the officer quickly process the form? Of course NOT. CIS made a decision a long time ago, they said we will make poor Publicus pay heavily for his citizenship before we are going to give it to him. When I went back to the original officer, she couldn’t understand what the supervisor did. It took her another minute to understand what he really did. And FINALLY she took away my Green Card.

THE BIG MOMENT

The Judge came to the convention center at 3 PM. Then the Big room changed to a Courtroom, and we all stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States. Thereafter a lady recited the Star Spangled Banner, and in the end the Judge asked a representative of the government to make their motion. The agent told the Judge: Your Honor the government processed 499 applications and besides the 26 absent :eek: people and the few who had to be continued, we move the Court to administer the Oath of allegiance. The Judge Granted the motion and ask us to stand, raise our right hands and say the Pledge of Allegiance. The Judge’s voice was solemn and powerful. And we became U.S. Citizens. The Judge after that gave a beautiful speech about Citizenship and the Great prosperous future of the United States, then left. The whole process was extremely formal.

LAST WORDS


In the end, we had to go back to our lines to give them back the oath letter and receive the Naturalization Certificate. I was still worried as I wanted to make sure there were NO MISTAKES made about my name and personal info. And indeed, it was perfect. I received my Certificate, signed it and can now declare that my Journey toward U.S. Citizenship is officially over. In the evening I celebrated by smoking a cigar and drinking a nice cold Corona beer (heavy on the lime). :D

I spent the whole day and night with my Certificate. It did not leave my sight. In the morning, I filed for a United States Passport via expedited processing, two ways overnight.

My Journey took some 1225 days (over three years and three months). It was an amazing one. The secret to my success were two things: (1) I never doubted the fact that I would win, and (2) I always considered myself an American. With or without a Citizenship, it was my thinking as a Citizen that got me through this ordeal. My advice to everyone out there is: Have a passion and pursue it with all your heart. If your passion to become a U.S. Citizen is strong, then keep it alive. NEVER GIVE UP. Try many things. Since my interview in February 2005, I tried one thing everyday. Sometimes I just call the 800 number. But at least I do something. More importantly, don’t listen to the people who put you down and make you just wait. The system works. It may be slow but it works. I have well-documented my journey on this forum. I am indeed the proof of how successful a Pro Se applicant can be. You guys can do this. If you are sitting at home waiting for an oath letter, or for your name check to be cleared, then you should get up and take action. The feeling of victory is so sweet. There is nothing like it.

DEDICATION


There are some people that I’d like to thank. I dedicate this victory to some abstract people not directly associated with our forum, in this I nominate Aurora, and Lamine Zeroual whom I learned a lot from. The Assistant United States Attorney, who was a very professional woman. The Founding Fathers, whose legacy and genius creation of the system of checks and balances lives on, The American people who recognized the greatness of this creation and knew how to protect it, the District Court who allowed me to bring suit, its employees, who answered many of my questions, the U.S. Senate who allowed a provision such as 8 USC 1447 (b) to exist. From this forum I’d like to thank: Rahul Kumar whose story really inspired me, Sony, my buddy in combat, Vulpasin, with his great wittiness, (I wish you both good luck), tsa3400, Jenimmi, ocworker, dw2005, wafr, slowjedi, Manyung, homeschoolmum and her sweet and warm words to me in times of despair, gegemon.
Those who are still waiting on their citizenship, I wish you the best, and in here I have in mind: Simone, Bashar, Needsolution, Anahit’s husband, zaraza's husband, and many others. I know the list is long, and I am trying to remember everybody’s name. Forgive me if I did not post your name here but I will do so later.

Good luck guys, your day will come: LOOK AT ME. I MADE IT…I MADE IT…I MADE IT. :D

YES, it is a great feeling. The Best in the World.
 
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1447b Petition

Hi, I am from San Francisco area and am in preparation of the 1447b petition. I've noticed certain discrepancies between official materials, and I'm wondering whether or not this is important and which way should I go.

Specifically, 2006 Pro Se Handbook and Civil Local Rules from the Northern District of California site (http://www.cand.uscourts.gov/) require strictly defined structure of petition, including certain paragraph order. In particular, petition should start with JURISDICTION followed by INTRADISTRICT ASSIGNMENT. (Local rules specifically state that both these paragraphs must be included).

At the same time, in the example of recent petition "1447b petition.pdf" from this thread (http://www.immigrationportal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13567, filed 10/11/05 with Northern District of California), first goes PARTIES and then JURISDICTION, VENUE, etc. The paragraph INTRADISTRICT ASSIGNMENT is absent at all.

The question thus is: what should I follow while preparing my petition, latest District rules or recent example of actual petition (of course, it would be much easier to follow example rather than run through huge volumes of local rules and laws).

Any opinions? Thank you very much for your help.
 
HoustonRockets said:
Congrats Publicus! And thanks Wonder Boy!

I am still waiting to collect enough ammos for my Mandamus. I filed FOPIA request, and upon a receipt of "No Records" (crossing my fingers), I would contact Congressman (btw, is there a right one to contact? or anyone I could contact locally?)

Hey Wonder Boy, have you done all these before filing your Mandamus?

- HoustonRockets

I am no expert but I can tell you that there is a "right" congressman to contact. Go to www.house.gov, click on contact your representative "left column". You then need to enter your address and the program will tell you who is your representative and give you the option to email him/her. Otherwise the congressman may choose to deny your request as out of his/her jurisdiction. If you choose to contact the senator (next step) then it does not matter much because both senators cover the whole state.
Good luck
 
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