Asmai v. Johnson

182 F. Supp. 3d 1086, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53755, 2016 WL 1599469
District Court, E.D. California·Decided April 21, 2016·No. No. 2:14-CV-2619-TLN-AC·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

ORDER

Troy L. Nunley, United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court pursuant to Defendants Jeh Johnson, Eric H. Holder, Jr., James Comey, Leon Rodriguez, and Mari-Carmen Jordan’s (collectively referred to as “Defendants”) Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, in the alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment. (ECF No. 13.) Plaintiff Timorshah Asmai (“Plaintiff”) has filed an opposition (ECF No. 16), to which Defendants have replied (ECF No. 19). The Court has carefully considered the arguments raised by the parties and . for the reasons set forth hereby DENIES Defendants’ motion.

I. Factual Background

Plaintiff filed a complaint for writ of mandamus on November 7, 2014. (ECF No. 1.) In which he alleges as follows: Plaintiff and his wife and daughter entered the U.S. as refugees from Afghanistan on December 22, 1999. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 11.) On April 8, 2001, Mr. Asmai submitted a Form 1-485, Application to Adjust to Permanent Resident Status. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 13.) During the period of time that Plaintiffs application has been unadjudicated, his wife had three children, all bom in the U.S., and his wife and oldest child became U.S. citizens. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 15.)

[1089] Plaintiff has made numerous inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) regarding his application for adjustments of status, and they have sometimes gone unanswered, and other times have resulted in contradictory responses. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 16.) In September 2010, in response to a telephonic inquiry, Plaintiff was told that his case was on hold because of INA § 212(a)(3)(B) (“Terrorist Activities”), although there was no indication given as to which subsection of this law would apply to Plaintiff. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 18.) Plaintiff alleges that a thorough review of the entire statute and his history reveals that nothing in this statute applies to him. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 18.) In a letter dated September 30, 2011, Congressman Daniel Lungren responded to Plaintiffs request for help by stating that his office initiated' an inquiry to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and was informed that Plaintiffs case “is still pending clearance of the routine security checks.” (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 17.)

Since filing this suit, Plaintiff was informed in January 2015, that he is barred from adjustment of status for engaging in combat on behalf of a group called Dos-tum’s Forces, which is considered, as a Tier III terrorist organization. Thus, his application was put on hold and will not be executed unless or until an exception to the terrorist-related inadmissibility standards is created. Plaintiff responded with a sworn statement and supporting documents explaining that: he had never worked on behalf of Dostum’s Forces; he had only worked as an employee of the Afghanistan Air Force when he was fighting the Taliban; during the time period Plaintiff is accused of working for Dos-tum’s Forces he was working exclusively as a pilot in the Afghanistan Air Force; and he explained how the notes that were attached to his 1999 application for refugee status—made by someone other than himself in a language-he could not,=at the time, read or write—could have contained the misinformation that he was connected to Dostum’s forces. (See PL’s Exs. K, L and M in Supp. of Opp., ECF No. 16-1.) DHS sent a letter stating that' Plaintiffs explanation was not credible and that Plaintiffs assertions were factually inaccurate. (Supp. Canaan Deck, ECF No. 13-2 at ¶ 4.)

Plaintiffs application is still pending after a period of almost fifteen years, and thus Plaintiff seeks an order from this Court requiring Defendants to adjudicate Plaintiffs application for adjustment of status. Defendants have filed the,instant Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, in the alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment. (ECF No. 13.)

II. Legal Standards

A. Motion to Dismiss

A party may move to dismiss a claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). “When subject matter jurisdiction is challenged under Federal Rule of [Civil] Procedure 12(b)(1), the plaintiff has the burden of proving jurisdiction in order to survive the motion.” Tosco Corp. v. Communities for a Better Env’t, 236 F.3d 495, 499 (9th Cir.2001) (abrogated on other, grounds by Hertz Corp. v. Friend, 559 U.S. 77, 130 S.Ct. 1181, 175 L.Ed.2d 1029 (2010)). “ ’Unless the jurisdictional issue is inextricable from the merits of a case, the court may determine jurisdiction on a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1)[.]”’ Robinson v. U.S., 586 F.3d 683, 685 (9th Cir.2009) (internal citations omitted). If the court determines at any time that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction “the court must dismiss the action.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3).

In addition to pleading valid jurisdiction, a plaintiff must also allege facts giving rise to a case or controversy which is “ripe” for adjudication. See United [1090] States Nat’l Bank of Or. v. Indep. Ins. Agents of Am., 508 U.S. 439, 113 S.Ct. 2173, 124 L.Ed.2d 402 (1993). A court’s subject matter jurisdiction is limited to matters “ripe" for adjudication, and if a case is not ripe, the court should dismiss it. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1); Chandler v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 598 F.3d 1115, 1121, 1122 (9th Cir.2010).

B; Summary Judgment

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Asmai v. Johnson, 182 F. Supp. 3d 1086, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53755, 2016 WL 1599469 (E.D. Cal. 2016).

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