Hirenkumar Prajapati and Komalben Prajapati v. Angelica Alfonso-Royals, Acting Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedJanuary 6, 2026
Docket4:25-cv-00258
StatusUnknown

This text of Hirenkumar Prajapati and Komalben Prajapati v. Angelica Alfonso-Royals, Acting Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al. (Hirenkumar Prajapati and Komalben Prajapati v. Angelica Alfonso-Royals, Acting Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Hirenkumar Prajapati and Komalben Prajapati v. Angelica Alfonso-Royals, Acting Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al., (W.D. Mo. 2026).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI WESTERN DIVISION

HIRENKUMAR PRAJAPATI and ) KOMALBEN PRAJAPATI, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) No. 4:25-cv-00258-DGK ) ANGELICA ALFONSO-ROYALS, ) ACTING DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES ) CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION ) SERVICES, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

This is an immigration-status case. Pro se Plaintiffs Hirenkumar and Komalben Prajapati seek to compel Defendant Angelica Alfonso-Royals, Acting Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”),1 to make a bona fide determination (“BFD”), grant employment authorization documents (“EADs”), make a waiting list determination (“WLD”), and grant Plaintiffs deferred action as part of Hirenkumar’s petition for U nonimmigrant status.2 Now before the Court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ petition for mandamus pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) or, alternatively, Rule 12(b)(6). ECF No. 4. Defendants (1) make a facial challenge to this Court’s subject-matter jurisdiction because Congress has barred courts from reviewing the kind of discretionary immigration determinations

1 Ur Jaddou was Director of USCIS when Plaintiffs originally filed their complaint.

2 As explained more fully below, U nonimmigrant status is temporary lawful nonimmigrant status and work authorization granted to aliens who have been the victims of crimes and who have assisted in the investigation or prosecution of those crimes. at issue in this case; and (2) argue Plaintiffs’ claim for a wait-list determination is not ripe. For the reasons stated below, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Plaintiffs’ claims to compel bona fide and employment authorization determinations and deferred action are DISMISSED for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). Defendants’ motion is DENIED with respect to Plaintiffs’ waiting list determination claim. Legal Standard Whether the Court has subject-matter jurisdiction, that is, authority to decide the merits of a case, is a threshold matter. See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 94–95 (1998). A court may dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1). “The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction” when a defendant moves to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1). Hilger v. United States, 87 F.4th 897, 899 (8th Cir. 2023) (citing Herden v. United States, 726 F.3d 1042, 1046 (8th Cir. 2013) (en banc)). “A court deciding a motion under Rule 12(b)(1) must distinguish between a facial attack

and a factual attack.” Osborn v. United States, 918 F.2d 724, 729 n.6 (8th Cir. 1990) (citation omitted). “In a facial attack,” as here, “the court merely needs to look and see if plaintiff has sufficiently alleged a basis of subject matter jurisdiction. Accordingly, the court restricts itself to the face of the pleadings and the non-moving party receives the same protections as it would defending against a motion brought under Rule 12(b)(6),” Branson Label, Inc. v. City of Branson, 793 F.3d 910, 914 (8th Cir. 2015), which require the Court to “accept the facts alleged in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmovant.” Bauer v. AGA Serv. Co., 25 F.4th 587, 589 (8th Cir. 2022) (modified, citation omitted). As in a Rule 12(b)(6) analysis, a court generally ignores materials outside the pleadings on a facial challenge to its jurisdiction, but it may consider materials that are part of the public record or materials that are necessarily embraced by the pleadings. Miller v. Toxicology Lab. Inc., 688 F.3d 928, 931 (8th Cir. 2012). A claim may also be dismissed if it fails “to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 requires a complaint to contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing the pleader is entitled to relief.” In ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a court “must accept as true all of the complaint’s factual allegations and view them in the light most favorable to” the plaintiff. Stodghill v. Wellston Sch. Dist., 512 F.3d 472, 476 (8th Cir. 2008). To avoid dismissal, a complaint must include “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). In reviewing the complaint, a court construes it liberally and draws all reasonable inferences from the facts in the plaintiff’s favor. Monson v. Drug Enforcement Admin., 589 F.3d 952, 961 (8th Cir. 2009). Again, a court generally ignores materials outside the pleadings but may consider materials that are part of the public record or materials that are necessarily embraced by the pleadings. Miller

v. Toxicology Lab. Inc., 688 F.3d 928, 931 (8th Cir. 2012). A pro se complaint must be liberally construed, Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976), and “pro se litigants are held to a lesser pleading standard than other parties,” Fed. Express Corp. v. Holowecki, 552 U.S. 389, 402 (2008). “However, this standard does not excuse pro se complaints from alleging sufficient facts to support the claims advanced.” Gerstner v. Sebig, LLC, 386 Fed. Appx. 573, 575 (8th Cir. 2010) (modified, citation omitted). Background Plaintiffs’ petition for mandamus arises from the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act’s “U Visa program,” codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(U). Under the U visa program, aliens who have been victims of a crime may file a petition for temporary lawful nonimmigrant status and work authorization (the “U visa”). This status may be granted to an alien who “(I) has suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of [a defined list of] criminal activity; (II) . . . possesses information concerning [that] criminal activity;

(III) . . . has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful to . . . authorities investigating or prosecuting [that] criminal activity . . .; and (IV) the criminal activity . . . violated the laws of the United States or occurred in the United States.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101

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Hirenkumar Prajapati and Komalben Prajapati v. Angelica Alfonso-Royals, Acting Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hirenkumar-prajapati-and-komalben-prajapati-v-angelica-alfonso-royals-mowd-2026.