Bezunesh Tesfaye Ayahu v. Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security; Joseph B. Edlow, Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; Danielle Lehman, Director of San Francisco Asylum Office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and Todd Blanche, Acting Attorney General

Opinion

The Honorable Jamal N. Whitehead

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

BEZUNESH TESFAYE AYEHU, CASE NO. 2:25-cv-02276-JNW Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION TO STAY CASE v. NOTED FOR CONSIDERATION: MARKWAYNE MULLIN1, Secretary of APRIL 9, 2026 Homeland Security; JOSEPH B. EDLOW, Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; DANIELLE LEHMAN, Director of San Francisco Asylum Office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and, Todd Blanche2, Acting Attorney General

Defendants.

Plaintiff and Defendants, by and through their counsel of record, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6 and Local Rules 7(d)(1), 10(g) and 16, hereby jointly stipulate and move to stay these proceedings for 90 days. Plaintiff brought this litigation pursuant to the Administrative

1 Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d), Federal Respondents substitute Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin for Kristi Noem. 2 Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d), Federal Respondents substitute Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for Procedure Act and Mandamus Act seeking, inter alia, to compel U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to adjudicate her asylum application.

Courts have “broad discretion” to stay proceedings. Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997). “[T]he power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 1. USCIS sent out interview notices in connection with this case for December 30, 2025 and January 27, 2026, and the parties previously agreed to stipulate to a 90-day stay. At the time, a December 2, 2025 Policy Memorandum, PM-602-0192, available online at https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-alerts/PM-602-0192- PendingApplicationsHighRiskCountries-20251202.pdf, had resulted in a hold on adjudicating

asylum applications. However, USCIS issued an alert on March 30, 2026, lifting its hold on “asylum applications from non high-risk countries.” See Update on USCIS’ Strengthened Screening and Vetting, available at https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/update-on-uscis- strengthened-screening-and-vetting (last visited April 1, 2026). As a result of this recent alert, USCIS reasonably anticipates that it will be able to start adjudicating certain I-589 applications within the next few weeks. With additional time, the claims in this litigation may be resolved without the need for further judicial intervention. Once the application at issue is adjudicated, Plaintiff will voluntarily dismiss this case. Accordingly, the parties respectfully request that there is good cause for the instant action be stayed for 90 days. The parties will submit a joint status report on or before the

end of this period. Dated this 9th day of April, 2026.

s/ Aaron Vasey s/ Katie D. Fairchild AARON L. VASEY, WSBA No. 58613 KATIE D. FAIRCHILD, WSBA No. 47712 145 N.W. 85th Street, Suite 103 Assistant United States Attorney Seattle, WA 98117 United States Attorney’s Office Phone: 206-438-8720 700 Stewart Street, Suite 5220 Email: aaron@danielsmithlawoffice.com Seattle, Washington 98101-1271 Phone: (206) 553-7970 Attorney for Plaintiff Fax: 206-553-4067 Email: katie.fairchild@usdoj.gov Attorneys for Defendant I certify that this memorandum contains 314 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules. The case is stayed for 90 days. The parties shall submit a status update on or before 90 days the date of this Order. It is so ORDERED. Dated this 10th day of April, 2026. Le~— United States District Judge 1] STIPULATED MOTION TO STAY CASE AND ORDER UNITED STATES ATTORNEY [2:25-cv-02276-JNW] - 4 700 Stewart Street. Suite 5220