Almiawi v. Jaddou

District Judge Tana Lin

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR 9 THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE MURAD KHALED ATALLA Civil No. 2:23-cv- 919-TL ALMIAWI, Petitioner, STIPULATED MOTION TO 13 v. DISMISS AND REMAND CASE TO UNITED STATES UR JADDOU, et al., CITIZENSHIP AND 15 IMMIGRATION SERVICES, 16 Respondents. PURSUANT TO 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b) and [PROPOSED] ORDER 18 Noted for Consideration: 07/14/2023 1. Petitioner commenced an action pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b), requesting this Court to adjudicate his application for naturalization that was pending before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS” or “the agency”) for more than 120 days after Petitioner had been interviewed.

27 Stipulation to Remand Page 1 of 4 Almiawi v. Jaddou et al 1 2. USCIS is now prepared to resolve this matter by adjudicating Petitioner’s application for naturalization. However, USCIS cannot adjudicate the application unless and until the Court remands the matter to the agency. See 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b) (explaining that the district court “may remand [a] Section 1447(b) case], with appropriate instructions, to the [USCIS]”); United States v. Hovsepian, 359 F.3d 1144, 1160 (9th Cir. 2004) (accord).

9 Accordingly, subject to the Court’s approval, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED that: 12 1. The Court shall dismiss this matter without prejudice and remand this case to USCIS, directing the agency to take any and all necessary actions, and to issue a decision on Petitioner’s application for naturalization within 7 days of the remand order. Based on the information now available to it, USCIS sees no basis that precludes a grant of Petitioner’s application for naturalization.

However, Petitioner acknowledges his burden to establish and maintain eligibility for naturalization up to the time he has taken the oath of allegiance.

2. If USCIS does not issue a decision on Petitioner’s application for naturalization within the time frame set forth in paragraph 1 above, Respondents will not oppose any request by Petitioner to this Court to vacate Stipulation to Remand Page 2 of 4 Almiawi v. Jaddou et al the remand order and thereby re-assert jurisdiction over Petitioner’s action pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b).

3. Petitioner has asserted a claim to attorney’s fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. The parties hereby agree that both parties not be awarded attorney’s fees and costs under the EAJA.

8 Dated: July 14, 2023 Respectfully submitted, 9 TESSA M. GORMAN 10 Acting United States Attorney 11 /s/ Michelle R. Lambert 12 MICHELLE R. LAMBERT Assistant United States Attorney 13 Attorney for Respondents United States 14 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 700 Tacoma, WA 98402 Tel.: (253) 428-3824 16 Email: [email protected] Dated: July 14, 2023 /s/Bart Klein 18 BART KLEIN Attorney for Petitioner First Avenue South, Suite 500 20 Seattle, WA 98104 Tel.: (206) 624-3787 Fax: (206) 624-6371 Email: [email protected]

27 Stipulation to Remand Page 3 of 4 Almiawi v. Jaddou et al 1 [PROPOSED] ORDER Pursuant to the Parties’ stipulation (Dkt. No. 7), IT IS SO ORDERED. This case is DISMISSED without prejudice and without fees or costs. The case is REMANDED to USCIS.

Dated: July 17, 2023 A Tana Lin 7 United States District Judge

27 Stipulation to Remand Page 4 of 4 Almiawi v. Jaddou et al