Ringgold v. Johnson

40 F. Supp. 3d 1331, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117942, 2014 WL 4211085
CourtDistrict Court, D. Hawaii
DecidedAugust 25, 2014
DocketCivil No. 13-00479 SOM/KSC
StatusPublished

This text of 40 F. Supp. 3d 1331 (Ringgold v. Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Hawaii primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ringgold v. Johnson, 40 F. Supp. 3d 1331, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117942, 2014 WL 4211085 (D. Haw. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SUSAN OKI MOLLWAY, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION.

Before the court are cross-motions for summary judgment filed by Plaintiffs Diana Jonette Ringgold (“Ringgold”) and Victor Mazliah (“Mazliah”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) and by Defendants Jeh Johnson, in his official capacity as Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security; Lori Scialabba, in her official capacity as Acting Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”); and David Gulick, in his official capacity as USCIS District Director for Honolulu, Hawaii (collectively, “Defendants”). The court grants Defendants’ motion and denies Plaintiffs’ motion.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND.

Plaintiffs challenge USCIS’s denial of Plaintiff Diana Ringgold’s 1-130, Petition of Alien Relative, and Plaintiff Victor Maz-liah’s 1-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. ECF No. 14, PagelD # 77.

Ringgold, a U.S. citizen, met Mazliah, a citizen of Israel, in June 2009. Administrative Record (“AR”) at 83, 93. Ringgold was 21 years old at the time, and Mazliah was about three years older. Id. Ringgold says they began living together a few months later, then got married on October 24, 2009. Id. At the time they got married, Mazliah was in the United States on a visitor visa set to expire in about a month. Id. at 622.

On December 4, 2009, Ringgold filed a Form 1-130 with USCIS seeking to establish her marital relationship with Mazliah for immigration purposes. Id. at 76-77; ECF No. 14, PagelD #77-78. Mazliah filed a Form 1-485 with USCIS on the same date, seeking to adjust his status to that of a permanent resident given his marriage to a U.S. citizen. AR at 434, 622-25.

On February 24, 2010, Ringgold and Mazliah were interviewed by USCIS. AR at 66. During the interview, Ringgold and Mazliah indicated that they had met in June 2009 and had gotten married on Oc[1335]*1335tober 24, 2009. Id. According to Ring-gold and Mazliah, at the end of the interview, the examiner informed them that their “case is approved.” ECF No. 31-1, PagelD # 294. As support, Ringgold and Mazliah cite to a copy of Mazliah’s 1-485 in which the “Approved Visa Petition” box is checked. See AR at 622. Although this copy is in USCIS’s file for Mazliah, Mazli-ah does not say this document was ever sent to him with that check mark.

After waiting more than a year and a half without getting a decision, Mazliah asked for an appointment with USCIS. Id. at 66. During a meeting on November 9, 2011, Mazliah noted that Ringgold had made multiple trips to Australia because she had obtained discounts from her ex-boyfriend that allowed her to travel for only $150 per plane ticket. Id. at 67.

On December 22, 2011, Ringgold and Mazliah were again interviewed by USCIS. Id. According to USCIS, Ringgold and Mazliah indicated that they had not lived together for most of 2011; Ringgold had been living in Australia while Mazliah had been living in Hawaii. Id. During the interview, Ringgold said she was not in frequent contact with her father. Id.

On March 14, 2012, USCIS issued a Notice of Intent to Deny Ringgold’s 1-180, stating that she had failed to meet her burden of proof regarding her relationship with Mazliah. Id. at 58-60, Plaintiffs’' counsel responded to the Notice of Intent to Deny on April 16, 2012. Id. at 2-14.

On May 3, 2012, USCIS interviewed Ringgold’s father. Id. at 70. He indicated that, although he maintained steady contact with his daughter, he had not been aware until his interview with USCIS that she had gotten married. Id. He also stated that Ringgold had brought her boyfriend Patrick to a Thanksgiving gathering in November 2011, and that the two were together until approximately March 2012. Id. Ringgold’s father indicated that she had previously dated an Australian man, had lived with that man in Australia, and had intended to marry him. Id.

On December 28, 2012, Ringgold’s father and stepmother were interviewed by USCIS. Id. at 71. They indicated that Ringgold and her father had a good relationship; that Ringgold had worked in Australia for a year as a nanny; that Mazliah was introduced to them in July 2012 but not as Ringgold’s husband; that Ringgold’s father had not known she was married until his interview on May 3, 2012; that other relatives were unaware of Ring-gold’s marriage; that Ringgold’s father was not sure if Ringgold loved Mazliah or if she lived with him; and that Ringgold had recently expressed a desire to move in with them. Id.

On January 22, 2013, Ringgold’s stepmother indicated that Ringgold was not living with Mazliah. Id.

On September 18, 2013, Plaintiffs met with a USCIS official. Id. They asked when a decision would be made on Ring-gold’s petition, which had been pending since December 2009. Id. at 72; ECF No. 31-1, PagelD # 299. The USCIS official responded that the issue was better left to the end of the interview. AR at 72. The USCIS official told Plaintiffs that the official wanted to interview them separately, but they refused, citing their frustration with the process and the humiliation of being interviewed separately. Id. The official told them that if they refused to be interviewed separately, USCIS would make a decision based on the evidence already obtained. Id. Defendants’ position is that, by refusing to be interviewed separately, Plaintiffs waived the opportunity to be confronted with, and to rebut, adverse evidence obtained after the Notice of In[1336]*1336tent to Deny issued. ECF No. 30, PagelD #252.

On September 20, 2013, Plaintiffs filed a Verified Complaint for Mandamus and for Declaratory Relief. ECF No. 1.

On November 27, 2013, USCIS denied Ringgold’s 1-130, stating that Ringgold had failed to meet her burden of proof regarding her relationship with Mazliah. AR at 63, 66-75.

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40 F. Supp. 3d 1331, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117942, 2014 WL 4211085, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ringgold-v-johnson-hid-2014.