Jiang v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

Opinion

District Judge Marsha J. Pechman

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

FAN JIANG, No. 2:22-cv-1264-MJP

Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION TO HOLD CASE IN ABEYANCE AND ORDER v. Noted for Consideration: UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND January 12, 2023 IMMIGRATION SERVICES, et al., 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 60 days to allow U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to review its denial of Plaintiff Jiang’s Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. 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. The parties submit there is good cause to hold this case in abeyance. Plaintiff initially brought this litigation seeking an order to compel USCIS to adjudicate Plaintiff’s applications. On December 9, 2022, USCIS denied the applications. In response, Plaintiff filed the First Amended Complaint, Dkt. No. 8, challenging the denial as arbitrary and capricious in violation

of, inter alia, the Administrative Procedure Act. USCIS is currently reviewing the denial of Plaintiff’s applications. Because USCIS requires additional time to undertake the review and further litigation may not be necessary after the review is completed, the parties agree that a 60-day stay of the litigation is appropriate. Therefore, the parties believe good cause exists for a stay in these proceedings to save the parties and this Court from spending unnecessary time and judicial resources on this matter. Accordingly, the parties jointly stipulate and request that the Court stay these proceedings for 60 days. The parties will submit a joint status report on or before March 13, 2023. Dated: January 12, 2023 Respectfully submitted,

NICHOLAS W. BROWN United States Attorney

s/Michelle R. Lambert MICHELLE R. LAMBERT, NYS #4666657 Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney’s Office 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 700 Tacoma, Washington 98402 Phone: 206-428-3824 Email: michelle.lambert@usdoj.gov Attorney for Defendants s/Ralph Hua RALPH HUA WSBA #42189 Fisher & Phillips LLP 1700 7th Ave, Ste 2200 Seattle, WA 98101 Phone: (206) 247-7014 Email: rhua@fisherphillips.com

Attorney for Plaintiff

The parties having stipulated and agreed, it is hereby so ORDERED. The parties shall file a joint status report on or before March 13, 2023.

DATED this 13th day of January, 2023. A

MARSHA J. PECHMAN United States Senior District Judge