Mahon v. Johnson
Opinion of the Court
Sheila Mahon brings this action, styled as a "complaint for mandamus," seeking to compel the Government to take action on her immigration petition. Mahon also asks the Court to rule, pursuant to the Declaratory Judgment Act,
BACKGROUND
Mahon, who is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, entered the United States on or about December 23, 1990. Her father, a U.S. citizen, filed a Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on her behalf, based on the classification of Mahon as an unmarried daughter of a U.S. citizen. (Compl. (Doc. No. 1) ¶¶ 14-16.) That petition was approved in May 1999. (Id. ¶ 17.) Mahon filed for an adjustment of status to become a lawful permanent resident on March 24, 2000. (Id. ¶ 19.) Mahon then got married to a U.S. citizen on April 29, 2001. (Id. ¶ 22.) Because she was married, Mahon was no longer eligible to adjust her status as an unmarried daughter of a U.S. citizen. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") did not realize Mahon had gotten married, however, and adjusted her status to lawful permanent resident in *323December 2003. (Id. ¶ 23.) Mahon then filed an N-400 application for naturalization, which was approved in July 2011. (Id. ¶ 25.) Her naturalization application was subsequently denied, however, because USCIS realized that she obtained her lawful permanent resident status not in accordance with all applicable provisions of the immigration laws. (Id. ¶ 26.)
Mahon's husband, who is a U.S. citizen, filed a Petition for Alien Relative on Mahon's behalf in April 2014. (Id. ¶ 28.) Mahon then filed an adjustment application, seeking to readjust her lawful permanent resident status through this avenue in an attempt to correct the defect in her previous application. (Id. ) In September 2014, the Petition for Alien Relative was approved, which did not it itself grant any immigration status. (Id. ¶ 29; DHS Ltr. (Doc. No. 1-12).) In October 2014, USCIS denied Mahon's second adjustment application on the grounds that she is already a lawful permanent resident. (Compl. ¶ 30; USCIS Denial Ltr. (Doc. No. 1-13).)
Mahon then filed her complaint in this Court on September 2, 2016. About two months later, on October 29, 2016, USCIS issued Mahon a "Notice to Appear" before an Immigration Judge. (Gov't Ex. A (Doc. No. 32) at 15.) Mahon was placed in removal proceedings because she was not entitled to her lawful permanent resident status at the time of her adjustment of status in 2003. (Def. Mem. at 15-17.)
STANDARD OF REVIEW
A district court must dismiss an action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) when the court "lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it." Cortlandt St. Recovery Corp v. Hellas Telecomms., S.A.R.L. ,
DISCUSSION
I. Mandamus Action
Styling her petition as a "complaint for mandamus," Mahon states that the "lawsuit arises from a failure of the defendant to adjudicate the plaintiff's application to adjust status on its merits" and asks the Court to order the defendants to adjudicate Mahon's second application. (Compl. ¶¶ 2, 13.) The defendants respond that this claim is moot. The Court agrees.
The case or controversy requirement of Article III precludes litigation over claims that are moot. Fox v. Bd. of Trustees of State Univ. of N.Y. ,
II. Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
Mahon asks the Court to vacate the denial of her application for lawful permanent resident status. (Compl. at 12.) She also asks the Court to declare that the approval of Mahon's application for permanent resident status in 2003 "is void ab initio" and that Mahon's "denied application for permanent resident status is entitled to a nunc pro tunc decision on its merits." (Id. ) Without any citations to supporting case law, Mahon claims that USCIS should have corrected her application to reflect that she was a married daughter of a U.S. citizen-as opposed to an unmarried one-and suggests that USCIS had an obligation to send her a Request For Evidence. (Pl. Mem. (Doc. No. 33) at 10.) In light of these alleged mistakes, Mahon urges the Court to vacate the denial of her second adjustment application. The defendants respond that the Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to review USCIS's denial because Mahon has not exhausted her administrative remedies available in removal proceedings. The Court agrees with the defendants.
Under
In Howell , the Second Circuit held that once removal proceedings begin, the district court does not have jurisdiction to review an agency's decision, denying an alien's application for adjustment of status, because the alien "has the opportunity, pursuant to the regulations, to renew her application for adjustment of status before an immigration judge."
Here, Mahon has failed to exhaust her administrative remedies, and, therefore, the Court does not have jurisdiction. As was the case in Howell , Mahon has the opportunity to renew her application before the Immigration Judge in removal proceedings. Moreover, none of the *325exceptions to the administrative exhaustion requirement applies here. Mahon cannot claim that she lacks a genuine opportunity for adequate relief because she may renew her application for adjustment of status during the removal proceedings. Howell ,
In her response to the defendants' request for a pre-motion conference, Mahon suggests that Howell does not apply. (Pl. Ltr. (Doc. No. 26) at 3.) She notes that Howell's application was denied on evidentiary grounds, whereas USCIS denied Mahon's application based on its interpretation of the relevant statute. Regardless of the basis for USCIS' decision, however, Mahon has not exhausted her administrative remedies, and, as a result, the Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction. See, e.g., Blaszczyk ,
III. Attorney's Fees
Mahon seeks attorney's fees pursuant to
[A] court shall award to a prevailing party ... fees and other expenses ... incurred by that party in any civil action ... including proceedings for judicial review of an agency action, brought by or against the United States in any court having jurisdiction of that action, unless the court finds that the position of the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an award unjust.
*326Elliott v. U.S. Dep't of State ,
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the defendants' motion to dismiss (Doc. No. 31) is granted.
SO ORDERED.
In addition, several district courts in this Circuit have found that there is "no Fifth Amendment due process claim on adjustment proceedings or other analogous discretionary benefit hearings." Gadria v. Gantner , No. 05-CV-6621 (NRB),
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Sheila Joyce MAHON v. Jeh JOHNSON, Secretary Department of Homeland Security Leon Rodriguez, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Phyllis A. Coven, New York District Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published