Milad Kastoun v. Kristi Noem, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJune 17, 2026
Docket1:25-cv-01636
StatusUnknown

This text of Milad Kastoun v. Kristi Noem, et al. (Milad Kastoun v. Kristi Noem, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Milad Kastoun v. Kristi Noem, et al., (E.D. Cal. 2026).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MILAD KASTOUN, Case No. 1:25-cv-01636-CDB

12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 13 v. 12(B)(1) 14 KRISTI NOEM, et al., (Doc. 8) 15 Defendants. 14-day Deadline 16 17 Pending before the Court1 is the motion of Defendants Kristi Noem (formerly Secretary of 18 Homeland Security), Joseph B. Edlow (Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration 19 Services (“USCIS”)), and Terri Robinson (Director of National Benefits Center) (collectively, 20 “Defendants”) to dismiss the complaint of Plaintiff Milad Kastoun (“Plaintiff”) for lack of 21 jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), filed on March 16, 2026. (Doc. 8). 22 On March 24, 2026, Plaintiff filed an opposition to the motion, and on April 3, 2026, Defendants 23 filed a reply. (Docs. 9, 15). Following review of the parties’ filings made in connection with the 24 motion, the Court deems the motion suitable for disposition without hearing and oral argument. 25 26

27 1 Following all parties’ expression of consent to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge for all further proceedings in this action, including trial and entry of judgment, on March 30, 2026, this 1 Local Rule 230(g). For the reasons set forth herein, the Court will deny Defendants’ motion to 2 dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. 3 I. Relevant Background 4 A. Procedural History2 5 Plaintiff initiated this action with the filing of a complaint on November 24, 2025. (Doc. 6 1). On February 10, 2026, the parties filed a stipulated request to extend time for Defendants to 7 file a responsive pleading, representing that this case concerns Plaintiff’s Form I-485 application 8 to adjust status under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) and the parties needed 9 additional time to confer. (Doc. 6). The next day, for good cause shown, the Court granted the 10 stipulated request, extended time for Defendants to file a responsive pleading to March 16, 2026, 11 and continued the scheduling conference to April 6, 2026. (Doc. 7). Due to the pending motion to 12 dismiss and the status of the case, on March 25, 2026, the Court further continued the scheduling 13 conference to August 5, 2026. (Doc. 11). 14 B. Factual Background of Plaintiff’s Complaint 15 Plaintiff asserts his complaint is “in the nature of mandamus arising from Defendants’ 16 refusal to adjudicate Plaintiff’s application to adjust status[.]” (Doc. 1 at 1). Plaintiff requests a 17 hearing before the Court to make a determination on Plaintiff’s application to adjust status, or 18 alternatively request the Court issue a writ of mandamus compelling Defendants to adjudicate his 19 long-delayed application to adjust status. Id. at 2. 20 Plaintiff is a citizen of Syria and resides in Ridgecrest, California. Id. ¶¶ 1, 2. In July 2023, 21 he filed and submitted a Form I-485 application for adjustment of status. Id. ¶¶ 3, 4. On July 25, 22 2024, Plaintiff timely complied with USCIS’s request for evidence by providing the requested 23 documentation. Id. ¶ 5. Plaintiff alleges that since then, Defendants “have taken no action on the 24 pending adjustment application[,]” he “has made attempts to have Defendants adjudicate his 25 application to no avail[,]” and that he “has no other administrative remedy available to compel 26 Defendants to act.” Id. ¶¶ 6, 7. He asserts Defendants’ failure to adjudicate his application “causes 27 2 Filings are referenced herein according to their CM/ECF-designated pagination. 1 irreparable harm” by keeping him from accruing time toward seeking naturalization under 8 U.S.C. 2 § 1427. Id. ¶ 7. Plaintiff therefore brings this action to compel USCIS to adjudicate his pending 3 application as required by law. Id. ¶ 10. Plaintiff sues each Defendant in their official capacities. 4 Id. ¶¶ 11-13. 5 In Plaintiff’s first claim, he alleges that 5 U.S.C. § 555(b) of the Administrative Procedure 6 Act (“APA”) permits the Court to compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably 7 delayed, and here, his application “has been in administrative processing beyond a reasonable time 8 period for completing administrative processing of [his] adjustment of status application.” Id. ¶¶ 9 19-21. He asserts that he has exhausted all available administrative remedies to resolve this matter, 10 including repeatedly calling USCIS to inquire about the status of the application, and there are no 11 alternative forms of relief available to him. Id. ¶ 24. 12 In his second claim, Plaintiff asserts a violation of his due process rights under the Fifth 13 Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, alleging that he may seek redress for Defendants’ combined 14 failures to provide a reasonable and just framework of adjudication of his adjustment of status 15 application. Id. ¶¶ 26-27. He alleges Defendants’ failure has “irrevocably harmed” him in the 16 denial of an opportunity to claim lawful permanent resident status as well as the ability to sponsor 17 family members for residence in the United States. Id. ¶ 28. 18 In the prayer for relief, Plaintiff seeks the Court issue a writ of mandamus compelling 19 Defendants to promptly complete all processing of his application to adjust status within 60 days, 20 or alternatively, for the Court to adjudicate his application pursuant to the Court’s declaratory 21 judgment authority. Id. at 7. He further seeks the Court issue a writ of mandamus compelling 22 Defendants to issue him a green card and to explain the cause and nature of the delay and inform 23 him of any action they may take to accelerate processing of his application to adjust status. Id. 24 II. Governing Authority 25 The district court is a court of limited jurisdiction and is empowered only to hear disputes 26 “authorized by Constitution and statute.” Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 27 375, 377 (1994); Exxon Mobil Corp v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546, 552 (2005). Federal 1 appears.” A-Z Int'l. v. Phillips, 323 F.3d 1141, 1145 (9th Cir. 2003). Thus, a plaintiff carries the 2 burden of demonstrating the Court has subject matter jurisdiction. Kokkonen, 511 U.S. at 377 3 (citing McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 298 U.S. 178, 182-83 (1936)); Vacek v. United 4 States Postal Serv., 447 F.3d 1248, 1250 (9th Cir. 2006). 5 A complaint may be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Federal 6 Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1). Under Rule 12(b)(1), a defendant may challenge the plaintiff’s 7 jurisdictional allegations by asserting a “facial” attack, which “accepts the truth of the plaintiff’s 8 allegations but asserts that they ‘are insufficient on their face to invoke federal jurisdiction.’” Leite 9 v. Crane Co., 749 F.3d 1117, 1121 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Safe Air for Everyone v. Meyer, 373 10 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir. 2004)).

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Bluebook (online)
Milad Kastoun v. Kristi Noem, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/milad-kastoun-v-kristi-noem-et-al-caed-2026.