Mahnaz Malekpour Mansoorkhani v. Todd Blanche, et al.

Opinion

District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

MAHNAZ MALEKPOUR Case No. 2:25-cv-00294-KKE STIPULATED MOTION TO HOLD Plaintiff, CASE IN ABEYANCE AND ORDER v. Noted for Consideration: TODD BLANCHE, et al.,1 April 10, 2026 Defendants. For good cause, 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 continue to stay these proceedings through May 11, 2026. Plaintiff brought this litigation pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act seeking to compel U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to adjudicate her asylum application. The parties continue to work towards a resolution to this litigation. // 1 Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d), Federal Respondents substitute Acting United States Attorney General Todd Blanche for Pamela Bondi. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), Defendants substitute Secretary Markwayne Mullin for Kristi Noem. 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. With additional time, this case may be resolved without the need for further judicial intervention. As previously reported, USCIS had placed an adjudicative hold on all asylum applications. On March 30, 2026, USCIS announced that it is lifting the adjudication hold for asylum applications from non-high-risk countries.2 USCIS is in the process of removing the adjudicative hold from non-high-risk countries. Once the hold has been removed, USCIS will need additional time to adjudicate applications from non-high-risk countries that had been subject to the hold. As additional time is necessary for this to occur, the parties request that the Court hold the

case in abeyance until May 11, 2026. The parties will submit a status update on or before May 11, 2026. // // // //

2 https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/update-on-uscis-strengthened-screening-and-vetting (last visited Apr. 2, 2026) DATED this 10th day of April, 2026.

Respectfully submitted,

s/ Michelle R. Lambert s/ Myrna I. Luna MICHELLE R. LAMBERT, NYS #4666657 MYRNA I. LUNA, WSBA# 57440 Assistant United States Attorney Crescent Law, PLLC United States Attorney’s Office 4957 Lakemont Blvd SE, Ste C-4328 Western District of Washington Bellevue, Washington 98006 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 700 Phone: 425-832-2030 Tacoma, Washington 98402 Email: attorney@crescent-law.com Phone: (253) 428-3824 Attorneys for Plaintiff Phone: (253) 428-3826 Email: michelle.lambert@usdoj.gov Attorney for Defendants I certify that this memorandum contains 274 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules. The case is held in abeyance until May 11, 2026. The parties shall submit a status update on or before May 11, 2026. It is so ORDERED.

DATED this 10th day of April, 2026. A Kymberly K. Evanson United States District Judge