Khouya v. Garland

1 District Judge James L. Robart

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE ZINEB SIDI KHOUYA, Case No. 2:24-cv-00168-JLR Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION TO HOLD 11 CASE IN ABEYANCE AND v. [PROPOSED] ORDER MERRICK GARLAND, et al., Noted for Consideration: 13 April 16, 2024 Defendants.

15 Plaintiff 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 hold this case in abeyance until September 18, 2024. Plaintiff brought this litigation pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act and Mandamus Act seeking, inter alia, to compel the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) adjudicate her Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. Defendants’ response to the Complaint is currently due on April 22, 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 September 18, 2024.

24 // 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. P. 1.

6 With additional time, this case may be resolved without the need of further judicial intervention. USCIS has scheduled Plaintiff’s asylum interview for May 21, 2024. USCIS agrees to diligently work towards completing the adjudication within 120 days of the interview, absent unforeseen or exceptional circumstances that would require additional time for adjudication. If the adjudication is not completed within that time, USCIS will provide a status report to the Court. Plaintiff will submit all supplemental documents and evidence, if any, to USCIS seven to ten days prior to the interview date. Plaintiff recognizes that failure to submit documents prior to the interview may require the interview to be rescheduled and the adjudication delayed. If needed, Plaintiff will bring an interpreter to the interview, otherwise the interview will need to be rescheduled and the adjudication delayed. After the interview, USCIS will need time to adjudicate Plaintiff’s asylum application. Once the application is adjudicated, Plaintiff 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 Plaintiff’s asylum interview and then process his asylum application.

20 As additional time is necessary for this to occur, the parties request that the Court hold the case in abeyance until September 18, 2024. The parties will submit a joint status report on or before September 18, 2024.

23 // // 1 DATED this 16th day of April, 2024.

2 Respectfully submitted, TESSA M. GORMAN GIBBS H OU STON PAU W United States Attorney s/ Michelle R. Lambert s/ Adam Boyd MICHELLE R. LAMBERT, NYS #4666657 ADAM BOYD, WSBA# 49849 Assistant United States Attorney 1000 Second Avenue, Suite 1600 United States Attorney’s Office Seattle, Washington 98104-1003 Western District of Washington Phone: (206) 682-1080 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 700 Email: [email protected] Tacoma, Washington 98402 Phone: (253) 428-3824 Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendants Attorney for Plaintiff I certify that this memorandum contains 414 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules.

1 [PROPOSED] ORDER 2 The case is held in abeyance until September 18, 2024. The parties shall submit a joint status report on or before September 18, 2024. It is so ORDERED.

DATED this 16th day of April, 2024.

6 A 7 _______________________________ JAMES L. ROBART 8 United States District Judge