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

[kalyanij]

Washington, DC

Thanks AID.
Washington, DC would be applicable under both (1) and (2). The omission is the delay in approval of name check- which takes place in the FBI Washington, DC office. I guess I have a choice of Texas or Washington, DC to file the WOM. Have there been any WOM success stories out of Washington, DC? Texas seems to have been shut out.

This is described in 28 U.S.C § 1391(e)

(e) A civil action in which a defendant is an officer or employee of the United States or any agency thereof acting in his official capacity or under color of legal authority, or an agency of the United States, or the United States, may, except as otherwise provided by law, be brought in any judicial district in which
(1) a defendant in the action resides,
(2) a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated, or
(3) the plaintiff resides if no real property is involved in the action. Additional persons may be joined as parties to any such action in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and with such other venue requirements as would be applicable if the United States or one of its officers, employees, or agencies were not a party.
The summons and complaint in such an action shall be served as provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure except that the delivery of the summons and complaint to the officer or agency as required by the rules may be made by certified mail beyond the territorial limits of the district in which the action is brought.

I guess he is using (1) since most of the defendants are in Washington D.C.

Here is a link for the Venue
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode28/usc_sec_28_00001391----000-.html

 

[LAmorocco]

Hi Everybody,
I discovered this forum 2 days ago and I am so glad I did. You guys are educating me tremendously. And, especially giving me a lot of courage and hope.
I applied for US citizenship in October 2003, passed my interview successfully in september 2004 and since then my appilcation is stuck in name check (2 years ).
I called USCIS again yesterday. The agent I spoke to recommended to 1-write to my congressman office, 2-contact my ethnic/religion group, 3-file a law suit.
How do I start? Any advice?
Thanks a bunch

 

[mohamedmohamed]

I know that "mohamed mohamed" was looking into it after he won his WOM, he was hopping to get a chance after seeing some kind of document about the issue online. check out this post from mohamedx2 and previous ones by doing a search on his posts .
or may want to email him directly to see. Good luck

hey Guys, and congratualtions for those of you have have won the fight.
i want to gfight that, but i had two choices
1-to refuse the uscis offer to adjudicate my case, and approve my I 485, until they backdate the "green Card" date to 2 years ago.
i couldnt do that because having my "green Card" is about 80% of what i want it, so i had to tale their offer, and drop my case.
2- i wanted to file for N 400, naturalization after 3 years of my intial filing date of the I 485, and after the deny my application, because my green card was approved only few months ago, then i can take that fight to either the immigration review board, or to the district court, and argue that the delay in the I 485 approval was only USCIS respondsabilty since i have gave them everythign tehy asked for, and since they have failed to adjudicate my case, in the same time period they have approved everyone else, and that, i should not pay the consequences for their failure to do their job properly.
then i will put teh whole issue in front of another panel where they can see the sense in my argument, and hopfully they can approve it.
the only reason i didnt do is because , I am traveling out of the country soon , for some very important reason, and i wont be back for an extended period of time, that is when i gave up on the 2nd choice.
that been said, i still strongly recommend to any one of you who have an interst in this, to wait tillt he I 485 is approved, and count about 3 years from the initial finling of the i 485, and file N 400, and of cours it will be denied, and that is where you can tak the issue to the board of mmigration review, or to the district court, accourding the jursdiction of the matter, and you will have a chance to have your point heard, and there is a chance ( i dont know how much of cheance) some one might see the logic in your rgument
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/06/09/BAG1BJBH3E1.DTL&type=printable

http://shusterman.com/pdf/schneider606.pdf

http://shusterman.com/pdf/schneider806.pdf

but there is this one judgment in the ninths circuit court, that might be helpful in pursuing something liek this.
i hop it is some help for all of you, and which everyone good luck

 

[rob waiter]

boston-case,

thanks so much. did you print your own summons or
the clerk will prepare for you? Is there any template for
the summon?

Hi Rob,
Let me know if you need to know on any specific issue.
Boston Federal Court comes under Eastern District of Massachusetts.
(It depends where you live in Mass.
Address:
John Joseph Moakley
U.S. Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Suite 2300
Boston, MA 02210
(617)748-9152
Office Hours:
8:30am - 5:00pm


Go to 2nd floor and look for clerk's office.

Hope it helps.

 

[ICU Doc]

Update and question

Hello everyone
Finally after 8 months watching this forum from the sideline I took action. My lawyer filed WoM on my behalf today at the North Carolina Eastern district court. I am hoping to join those people for which the process goes smoothly.

I have a question. I am pretty sure my fingerprints have expired and CIS will ask for another one sooner or latter. Is there a way to go ahead and get fingerprinted now before CIS asks for it???? I do not want anything to delay my citizenship any more.

For all of you out there reading and waiting I say the following:
I know you are all thinking "if only my case was similar to these guys" or "my case is so different" or "there is this little mistake that I made and I am afraid is I sue CIS they will dig it up and deny my case". Truth is no two cases are identical, every case is unique and different, No application is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes at one point or another. This is one area in life where you have to make a dicision and run with it not looking back. People who filed their WoM or 1447b complaints early did great. The second wave did not go as smoothly and the trend is for worsening over time. CIS and US attorney will learn tricks to deny your case. They also will have to do something to curb the explosion in the number of people filing such cases everywhere. I do not think CIS is going to change anything soon. I believe our cases are ending up in some drawer in some corner in an office gathering dust. The more you wait the harder you path will become, it is your choice.
Best of luck to everyone and I will keep you posted. Remember to contact your local ACLU and ask them how can they help, they might be planning class action litigation in your town.
Here is my timeline to show you how different my case is:

Received Temporary GC May 2001
Applied for permanent GC Feb 2003 (nothing happend)
Filed N 400 in April 2004
Fingerprint July 2004
Interview letter April 2005
Interview "descheduled" May 2005
Name check pending since April 2004.

 

[errou]

Congratulations on your fight!

It is really frustrating that you are willing for government to check you out completely, while you don't get the clear response. You are being very patient and it has been 3 years for your case. I am just getting on this name check stuck boat for about almost 5 months, I guess I have got a long way to go.

I found out that the name check is really name check, when your name is on "Hit" list because of someone with similar name, you are in bad shape. When someone commits a crime, police office should record the name and ID number, date birthday. It would be mostly very rare for people have same name and same date birthday and same sex.

I hope all of us here will find a way out soon! Cause this journey is a really tiring and not pleasant!

Dear All,

Yesterday was my Oath ceremony, and I wanted to share with you my story and thank everybody for information and inspiration.

My N-400 was filed in October 2003, the interview took place in May 2004, my application had been pending subject to the name check ever since. Knowing that my background is as clean and straightforward as it could be, at first I was amazed with these people, then irritated, then frustrated. . .

I was reading this thread for about a year, meanwhile contacting USCIS and NNCP, hoping that they would get their act together, perhaps on the second anniversary of my citizenship interview. . . Nope, never happened. So on July 12 I filed my 1447(b) petition.

I was very tempted to include as defendants Michael Cannon and Dianne Berger of NNCP for never answering any of my eight (!) inquiries (no nagging of course, very polite and spread over 12 months), or well. To my surprise, a letter to Mrs. Laura Bush from April 2006 resulted in the first acknowledgment from the FBA, William Hooton on 7/19/2006 notified me that my name check "request was received on October 17, 2003 and is in pending status". . .

Three weeks after filing my petition (!!) the US District Attorney office calls to tell that my name check was completed and USCIS is ready to proceed. On 8/7/2006 I signed, notarized and mailed the Record of Sworn Statement in Affidavit Form, on 8/18/2006 I signed and faxed the Stipulation to dismiss. AUSA Ila Deiss was professional and pleasant to work with. . . As of yesterday, I am a US citizen.

Dear Publicist, Suzy, Bugging and Eastbayer, thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience. I used Bugging's petition as an example and followed Eastbayer's tips for filing. Although I've had no litigation experience (and hope never will again), you made it possible for me to get it done myself, pro se. Thank you so much and all the best!


PD 10/14/2003
FD#1 11/18/2003
Interview 5/20/2004
FD#2 7/15/2005
1447(b) filed 7/12/2006
Oath 9/5/2006

 

[LegalAlien99]

Hi Errou!

The problem with the name check program, apart from the fact that it is a pointless excerise for applicants already inside the United States, is the way they run names through their database. I know for a fact, check when I was back in Germany last week, that nobody in Germany has my exact first, middle and last name.

Here is where the problem starts with the US name check. Let us assume you have a first, middle and last name. Let us assume your name is John Joe Doe. Here is how the FBI would run this:

John Joe Doe

John Doe

Joe Doe

John Joe

...

And then various spelling variations of all three names on top of it. The same with your birthday. They also search dates close to the applicant's actual birthday.

Therefore, the number of false hits on way more than 1% of applicants is tremendous. Once a 'hit' comes up, a human being has to manually verify or falsify each and every one of those name hits. With only 118 analysts working for the NNCP, you can do the math how long it takes to resolve a case that has multiple hits.

Another poster was right. With a massive wave of WOMs and 1447(b)s, I would not wait too long to file a suit. I am sure, in order to avoid work, Congress will amend the law accordingly. They have 120 days post interview to adjudicate an application. Nothing more, nothing less. I do not think waiting a year, two years or even longer makes a case any stronger.

You can bet that I will file in October, as soon as the 120 days are up.

Cheers!
Legal

Congratulations on your fight!

It is really frustrating that you are willing for government to check you out completely, while you don't get the clear response. You are being very patient and it has been 3 years for your case. I am just getting on this name check stuck boat for about almost 5 months, I guess I have got a long way to go.

I found out that the name check is really name check, when your name is on "Hit" list because of someone with similar name, you are in bad shape. When someone commits a crime, police office should record the name and ID number, date birthday. It would be mostly very rare for people have same name and same date birthday and same sex.

I hope all of us here will find a way out soon! Cause this journey is a really tiring and not pleasant!

 

[errou]

Legal Alien 99,
It is good to see that you are acting upon it. You have the 120 days option to file I447b, don't lose this opportunity. I am sure within one month after your filing, you will be US Citizen.

I guess I will have to wait at least 12 months to file WOM. FBI is initiating system upgrade, once that gets approved ( cause they need Federal Budget funding, and we are the tax payer who will pay the fee), it will take 6 months to implement, 6 months of training and exercise, in 2 years, I can see the backlog will get shorter, which doesn't help my situation.

I wish your success in filing I447b and your battle will be soon over!

 

[LegalAlien99]

Hi Errou,

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, I do hope that I will be done with it within two months of filing under 1447(b). Yet, it bothers me tremendously that I have to pay another 250 bucks to force the gov't to do something they should have already completed under current laws and statutes. Well, it just shows - once again - that most gov't employees are overpaid and lazy and give a rats xyz about the job they are supposed to perform. Oh well! It will all be over soon...er or later ;-).

Cheers!
Legal

 

[LAmorocco]

LegalAlien99,
What's the diffrence between 1447b and WOM? why choosing one over the other? my application is collecting the dust for over 2 years (post-interview). What should be filing WOM or 1447b?
Thanks

 

[hayyyoot]

Difference between WOM, and 1447(b)

LegalAlien99,
What's the diffrence between 1447b and WOM? why choosing one over the other? my application is collecting the dust for over 2 years (post-interview). What should be filing WOM or 1447b?
Thanks

WOM is a Writ Of Mandamus, it mandates the USCIS to do its job in a timely manner, 1447(b) is a petition for a hearing, once you file it, the USCIS loses its jurisdiction over your your application.
Most lawyers do WOM, I don't know why, but, it is recommended that the 1447(b) is better, because the USCIS cannot then deny your application to avoid your lawsuit.
I was told by one of the lawyers I talked to that there are 134000 stalled application, all of them waiting the name check, some of them are over 6 years old, the inly way to mobilize those stalled cases is by suing.
On teh other hand, you should understand that this is not guaranteed, some of those cases have been dismissed by the court, and remanded back to the USCIS, it really depends on how liberal your district is, if you are in San Francisco area, you are in luck, if you are in Texas, you have very little chance.
Last but not least, if you have a muslim or Arab name, your chance of being stuck in teh name check is almost 100% regardless of age, gender, beleifs or lifestyle.
I wish you the best of luck.

 

[hayyyoot]

Pacer

LegalAlien99,
What's the diffrence between 1447b and WOM? why choosing one over the other? my application is collecting the dust for over 2 years (post-interview). What should be filing WOM or 1447b?
Thanks

Also;
I forgot to tell you, you can access all the federal court cases online if you registered on pacer, you can search the courts records, and have an idea of what other people did, it only costs 8 cents per page for all teh education it provides you:
check out:
http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

 

[LAmorocco]

Also;
I forgot to tell you, you can access all the federal court cases online if you registered on pacer, you can search the courts records, and have an idea of what other people did, it only costs 8 cents per page for all teh education it provides you:
check out:
http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

Hayyyoot,
Thanks so much for replying. I really don't know waht to do. I passed my interview 2 years ago.
You said "cases remanded back to the USCIS". Do you have to file N-400 over again or the application goes back collect more dust? why a court would dissmiss a case? I will follow your adivice to read a few cases.
My state is Connecticut.
Thanks again

 

[hayyyoot]

Hayyyoot,
Thanks so much for replying. I really don't know waht to do. I passed my interview 2 years ago.
You said "cases remanded back to the USCIS". Do you have to file N-400 over again or the application goes back collect more dust? why a court would dissmiss a case? I will follow your adivice to read a few cases.
My state is Connecticut.
Thanks again

Hey LAmor;
I don't know how liberal Connicticut's District court is, however, if the court remanded your case back to the USCIS, you really don't lose anything, it means that they will desregard your lawsuit and let everything go as usual, this happened in few cases, most cases get solved even before they reached the court, you have an excellent chance to get it because you waited very long. However, what I wanted you to remember is that nothing is guaranteed, the judge is supposed to be fair, I hope he/ she will be so.
On the other hand, if you didn't sue, you might have to wait for six years or more, litterally, many Arabs have been waiting since before 9/11.

 

[betaMichigan]

WOM for an 130 petition

Hello people!

I am a benificary for an I-130 petition, my US citizen wife is the the petitioner. The California service Center has gone approving petitions 2 years after ours was filed, while our remains unadjudicated.

We have filed several inquiries ourselves, through our senator, congressmen. We even contacted thte USCIS Ombudsman and they USCIS still has not done anything to approve our petition. We keep getting a generic response tha our petition is pending and we will get get a response once the processing is complete.

We are debating filing WOM as its been two years now. I have contacted our attorney. He is asking for 5000 dollars to file the writ and is saying that the writ needs to filed in California (as petition is pending there) and in michigan ( as we reside therE).

I thought that WOM can be filed where the 'plaintiff' resides which is michigan. I would appreciate any help regarding this!

My questions are:

1. is the WOM filed in both California and michigan or can we just file in Michigan?

2. If the petition is approved before trial do I still pay the lawyer 5000 dollarS?

3. Any chances the USCIS can hold a grudge against me and deny our application?


I would be much obliged for any help! the awesome gurus of WOMs on this website can provide us!

thanks!

 

[boston_case]

Summons

boston-case,

thanks so much. did you print your own summons or
the clerk will prepare for you? Is there any template for
the summon?

Rob,
You got to prepare the summons before going to the court. It is attachment 4 in the pro se package. Very straight forward, name all the defendants and prepare a summon for each defendant you named, with the address in the address box. Put you name and address on each summon.

The clerk will put the case number and stamp them. Whole process would take 10 to 15 minutes.

Hope this helps....

 

[n400check]

1447B in Michigan

Has anyone filed an I477B petition for N400 name check delay in Michigan Eastern District ? Please post any experiences.

 

[rob waiter]

boston-case,

thanks for your kindness. do you have the link to the
pro se packet? regards
rob

Rob,
You got to prepare the summons before going to the court. It is attachment 4 in the pro se package. Very straight forward, name all the defendants and prepare a summon for each defendant you named, with the address in the address box. Put you name and address on each summon.

The clerk will put the case number and stamp them. Whole process would take 10 to 15 minutes.

Hope this helps....

 

[rob waiter]

boston-case,
I meant if there is an electronic version of the summon.
My 121 will be mature next week. So I will file right away.

also do you have the address of all the defendents?

I wish you the best and bet you will be naturalized within 2 months.
rob

boston-case,

thanks for your kindness. do you have the link to the
pro se packet? regards
rob

 

[boston_case]

Boston Court site

boston-case,
I meant if there is an electronic version of the summon.
My 121 will be mature next week. So I will file right away.

also do you have the address of all the defendents?

I wish you the best and bet you will be naturalized within 2 months.
rob

Rob,
You can downloas pro se packet from Boston Federal District Court site

http://www.mad.uscourts.gov/LocPubs/Stepby02.pdf

Defendants:

1.Michael Chertoff, Secretary, DHS;
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Office of the General Counsel
Washington, DC 20528

2. ALberto Gonzales, Attorney General, USDOJ
US Attorney General
US Department of Justice
950 Pensylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001.

3. Robert S. Mueller, Director of FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pensylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20535-0001

4. Emilio Gonzalez., Director, USCIS
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Office of the General Counsel
Washington, DC 20528

5. Dennis Riordan, District Director-Boston, USCIS
Boston District Office
US Citizenship and Immigration Services
JFK Federal Building
Government Center
Boston, MA 02203



Hope this helps.......