Amir Ahmad Bakhtiary Davijani v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), et al.

Opinion

1 2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 SAN JOSE DIVISION 6 7 AMIR AHMAD BAKHTIARY DAVIJANI, Case No. 5:25-cv-07166-BLF Plaintiff, 8 v. ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S 9 UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND MOTION FOR CASE-MANAGEMENT IMMIGRATION SERVICES (USCIS), et RELIEF AND REMANDING TO USCIS 10 al., WITH INSTRUCTIONS Defendants. 11 [Re: ECF No. 14]

12 13 Before the Court is pro se Plaintiff Amir Davijani’s motion for case-management relief 14 pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b). ECF No. 14 (“Mot.”); see also ECF No. 21 (“Reply”). The 15 Government opposes the motion and has filed a cross-motion to remand the case to USCIS for 16 adjudication of Plaintiff’s naturalization application. ECF No. 20 (“Opp.”). 17 For the reasons described below, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s motion for case- 18 management relief and GRANTS the Government’s motion for remand. 19 I. Background 20 Plaintiff has been a lawful permanent resident in the United States since December 2018. 21 ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”) ¶ 12. Plaintiff filed a Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, with 22 USCIS on October 14, 2023. Id. On April 19, 2024, USCIS interviewed Plaintiff in connection 23 with his eligibility for naturalization. Id. ¶ 13. Plaintiff’s Form N-400 application remains 24 pending. 25 On August 25, 2025, Plaintiff filed the instant action pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b), 26 requesting the Court review his naturalization application de novo or, in the alternative, remand 27 the matter to USCIS with instructions to adjudicate the application within thirty days. Id. at 5. On 1 providing various forms of relief including requiring the Government to file a sworn declaration 2 specifying information about his case and to provide rolling status updates. Mot. at 5–6. On 3 October 10, 2025, the Government filed an opposition and cross-filed a motion to remand the 4 proceedings to USCIS for 45 days. 5 II. Legal Standard 6 Section 1447(b) provides that, if USCIS fails to adjudicate the Form N-400 application 7 within 120 days of the initial interview, the applicant may seek a de novo hearing in federal 8 district court. 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b). The district court has exclusive jurisdiction over the 9 applicant’s complaint and “may either determine the matter or remand the matter, with appropriate 10 instructions, to the Service to determine the matter.” Id. Once a district court action has been 11 filed, USCIS cannot complete adjudication of the application until and unless the Court remands 12 the matter to the agency. United States v. Hovsepian, 359 F.3d 1144, 1160–64 (9th Cir. 2004) 13 (en banc). The decision whether to remand is within the Court’s discretion. Id. at 1161. 14 However, once remanded, the agency has sole discretion to grant or deny the naturalization 15 application. 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b). 16 III. Discussion 17 The Court agrees with the Government that section 1447(b) does not require USCIS to 18 provide Plaintiff with the relief he requests in his motion. The Court further finds that the most 19 suitable resolution of this action is to remand the matter to USCIS for expedited adjudication, as 20 the Government has indicated that it is able to adjudicate Plaintiff’s application within 45 days. 21 The Court finds that remand promotes judicial economy by preserving judicial resources, enables 22 the USCIS to apply its agency expertise in adjudicating the matter, and vindicates Plaintiff’s 23 interest in prompt resolution of his Form N-400 application. In doing so, the Court joins the 24 majority of district courts in this Circuit that have declined to adjudicate the matter in favor of 25 remand to USCIS. See, e.g., Koltsov v. Martin, No. 18-cv-535, 2018 WL 6074575, at *3 26 (C.D. Cal. July 16, 2018) (collecting cases); Reddy v. Mueller, 551 F. Supp. 2d 952, 953 27 (N.D. Cal. 2008). 1 For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 2 (1) Plaintiffs motion for case relief is DENIED. The Government’s cross-motion to remand 3 to USCIS is GRANTED. 4 (2) USCIS SHALL adjudicate Plaintiff's application for naturalization within 45 days of the 5 date of this order. 6 (3) The Parties SHALL file a joint status report regarding the status of Plaintiff's 7 naturalization within seven days of USCIS’s final decision. 8 (4) Plaintiff may reopen this case if the administrative adjudication of his naturalization 9 application is not completed within 45 days of the date of this order. 10 Dated: October 17, 2025

BETH LABSON FREEMAN %L United States District Judge

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