Ren v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Service

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedMay 5, 2021
Docket2:19-cv-00659
StatusUnknown

This text of Ren v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (Ren v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ren v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, (E.D. Va. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA NorfolkDivision CHUNCHENG REN and ) ELIZUR INTERNATIONAL, INC., ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 2:19CV659(RCY) ) UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP ) AND IMMIGRATION SERVICE, ) Defendant. ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION This matter comes before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 27), filed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, and Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 33), filed by Chuncheng Ren and Elizur International Inc. Plaintiffs are asking the Court to review and overturn the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s denial of a permanent EB1C visa to Chuncheng Ren, while Defendant is asking the Court to uphold the denial. Theparties filed these motions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a). The Court heard oral argument on March 2, 2021 (ECF No. 41). For the reasons stated below, the Court will GRANT Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and DENY Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment. I. STATUTORY FRAMEWORK 1. The Immigration and Nationality Act The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, as this a civil action arising under a law of the United States, the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. The INA creates “a comprehensivefederal statutory scheme for regulation of immigration and naturalization.” Chamber of Com.of U.S. v. Whiting, 563 U.S. 582, 587 (2011)(quoting De Canas v. Bica, 424 U.S. 351, 353 (1976)). The INA establishes two broad categories of employment-based visas: non-immigrant (temporary) and immigrant (permanent). See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101(a)(15), 1153(b), and 1184. For both types of non-immigrant and immigrant visas in this action, only a United States employer may petition for the visa; the “alien”may not petition on his or her own behalf. 8 U.S.C.

§§ 1101(a)(15)(L), 1153(b)(1); 8 C.F.R. §§ 204.5(j) and 214.2(l)(2). The employer petitioner “bears the burden of establishing eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence” for an immigrant visa. Delta Talent, LLC v. Wolf, 448 F. Supp. 3d 644, 650 (W.D. Tex. 2020) (citation omitted). The first type of visa in this action is a non-immigrant temporary visa under the L1A category for an intracompany transferee executive or manager. (Compl., ECF No. 1, at 2);8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(L); 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(l). The L1A visa requires a petitioning company to establish three criteria: (1) an alien who, within three years preceding the time of his or her application for admission into the United States, has been employed abroad continuously for one year by a firm or corporation or other legal entity or parent, branch, affiliate, or subsidiary thereof; (2) and who

seeks to enter the United States temporarily in order torender his or her services to a branch of the same employer or a parent, affiliate, or subsidiary thereof (3) in a capacity that is managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(L). The maximum amount of time that one can stay in the United States on an L1A visa is seven years. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(l)(15)(ii). The second type of visa at issue is an immigrant permanent EB1C visa for a multinational executive or manager. (Compl. at 2); see8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(1)(C). The EB1C visa requirements are substantially similar to the L1 visa requirements. The petitioning company must establish: (1) an alien, in the three years preceding the time of the alien’s application for classification and admission into the United States under this subparagraph, has been employed for at least oneyear by a firm or corporation or other legal entity or an affiliate or subsidiary thereof; (2) and the alien seeks to enter the United States in order to render services to the same employer or to a subsidiary or affiliate thereof; (3) in a capacity that is managerial or executive. 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(1)(C). The INA setsforth the qualification requirements for eachvisa and definesmanagerial and

executive capacity. The definitions are as follows: (A) The term “managerial capacity” means an assignment within an organization in which the employee primarily— (i) manages the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization; (ii) supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees, or manages an essential function within the organization, or a department or subdivision of the organization; (iii) if another employee or other employees are directly supervised, has the authority to hire and fire or recommend those as well as other personnel actions (such as promotion and leave authorization) or, if no other employee is directly supervised, functions at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy or with respect to the function managed; and (iv) exercises discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity or function for which the employee has authority. 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(44)(A). (B) The term “executive capacity” mean an assignment within an organization in which the employee primarily— (i) directs the management of the organization or a major component or function of the organization; (ii) establishes the goals and policies of the organization, component, or function; (iii) exercises wide latitude in discretionary decision-making; and (iv) receives only general supervision or direction from higherlevel executives, the board of directors, or stockholders of the organization. 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(44)(B). The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) administers U.S. immigration laws and adjudicates immigration benefit requests. U.S. Citizenship & Immigr. Servs., Policy Manual,vol 1, part A, ch. 1 (2021), https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume- 1-part-a-chapter-1. USCIS decides whether a beneficiary works in a managerial or executive capacity, and whether a visa petition should be approved or denied. Id. vol. 1, part E, ch. 1. The

beneficiary is an “alien” who has a visa petition filed on his or her behalf. 2.The Administrative Procedure Act The Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) allows for judicial review of a “final agency action for which there is no other adequate remedy in a court.” 5 U.S.C. § 704.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe
401 U.S. 402 (Supreme Court, 1971)
Camp v. Pitts
411 U.S. 138 (Supreme Court, 1973)
De Canas v. Bica
424 U.S. 351 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Holly Hill Farm Corporation v. United States
447 F.3d 258 (Fourth Circuit, 2006)
Brazil Quality Stones, Inc. v. Chertoff
531 F.3d 1063 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. v. Dickinson
123 F. Supp. 2d 456 (N.D. Illinois, 2000)
Baynard v. Malone
268 F.3d 228 (Fourth Circuit, 2001)
Mahalaxmi Amba Jewelers v. Johnson
652 F. App'x 612 (Tenth Circuit, 2016)
Casa De Md. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland SEC.
924 F.3d 684 (Fourth Circuit, 2019)
E-M
20 I. & N. Dec. 77 (Board of Immigration Appeals, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Ren v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ren-v-united-states-citizenship-and-immigration-service-vaed-2021.