Bi v. Mayorkas

1 District Judge Tana Lin UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE QIUCHANG BI, et al., No. 2:23-cv-1895-TL 10 Plaintiffs, STIPULATED MOTION TO HOLD CASE IN ABEYANCE AND 11 v. [PROPOSED] ORDER ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, et al., Noted for Consideration: January 19, 2024 13 Defendants.

15 Plaintiffs and Defendants, by and through their counsel of record, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6 and Local Rules 7(d)(1), 10(g) and 16, hereby jointly stipulate and move to stay these proceedings until May 13, 2024. Plaintiffs brought this litigation pursuant to the Mandamus Act and the Administrative Procedure Act seeking, inter alia, to compel the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to adjudicate Plaintiff Kar Soon’s Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, and Plaintiff Qiuchang’s Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Defendants’ response to the Complaint is currently due on February 12, 2024. The parties are currently working towards a resolution to this litigation. For good cause, the parties request that the Court hold the case in abeyance until May 13, 2024.

1 Courts have “broad discretion” to stay proceedings. Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997). “[T]he power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also Fed. R. Civ. 5 P. 1.

6 With additional time, this case may be resolved without the need of further judicial intervention. USCIS has scheduled Plaintiffs’ interview for February 7, 2024. USCIS will need additional time thereafter to process the applications and verify any information that Plaintiffs submit to establish eligibility for the immigration benefits. Agency verification methods may include review of public records and information; contact via written correspondence, the internet, facsimile, other electronic transmission, or telephone; unannounced physical site inspections of residences and locations of employment; and interviews. Once the applications are adjudicated, Plaintiffs will dismiss the case with each party to bear their own litigation costs and attorneys’ fees. Accordingly, the parties request this abeyance to allow USCIS to conduct Plaintiffs’ interview and then process their applications.

16 As additional time is necessary for this to occur, the parties request that the Court hold the case in abeyance until May 13, 2024. The parties will submit a joint status report on or before May 13, 2024.

19 // // // // // Dated: January 19, 2024 Respectfully submitted, 2 TESSA M. GORMAN United States Attorney s/Michelle R. Lambert 4 MICHELLE R. LAMBERT, NYS #4666657 Assistant United States Attorney 5 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 700 Tacoma, Washington 98402 6 Phone: 253-428-3824 Email: [email protected] 7 Attorneys for Defendants 8 I certify that this memorandum contains words, in compliance with the Local 9 Civil Rules. s/ Dennis C. Lam 11 DENNIS C. LAM WSBA#22899 Law Offices of Dennis Lam, PLLC 12 15921 NE 8th Street, Suite C-208 Bellevue, Washington 98008 13 Phone: 206-682-9233 Email: [email protected] 14 Attorney for Plaintiffs 1 [PROPOSED] ORDER The case is held in abeyance until May 13, 2024. The parties shall submit a joint status report on or before May 13, 2024. It is so ORDERED.

4 DATED this 23rd day of January 2024. _______________________________ 7 TANA LIN United States District Judge