Teressa v. Mayorkas

1 District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE ASHENAFI K. TERESSA, Case No. 2:24-cv-00306-RSM Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION TO HOLD 11 CASE IN ABEYANCE AND ORDER v. 12 Noted for Consideration: ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, et al., April 26, 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 stay these proceedings until October 3, 2024. Plaintiff brought this litigation pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act and Mandamus Act seeking, inter alia, to compel U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to schedule an interview and adjudicate his asylum application. Defendants’ response to the Complaint is currently due on May 14, 2024.

21 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 October 3, 2024.

23 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.

4 With additional time, this case may be resolved without the need of further judicial intervention. USCIS has scheduled Plaintiff’s asylum interview for June 5, 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. 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.

17 As additional time is necessary for this to occur, the parties request that the Court hold the case in abeyance until October 3, 2024. The parties will submit a status update on or before October 3, 2024.

20 // // // // // 1 DATED this 26th day of April, 2024.

2 Respectfully submitted, TESSA M. GORMAN O’SULLIVAN LAW OFFICE United States Attorney s/ Michelle R. Lambert s/ Jane Marie O’Sullivan MICHELLE R. LAMBERT, NYS #4666657 JANE MARIE O’SULLIVAN, WSBA#34486 Assistant United States Attorney 2417 Pacific Avenue SE, 2nd Floor United States Attorney’s Office Olympia, Washington 98501 Western District of Washington Phone: (206) 340-9980 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 700 Email: [email protected] Tacoma, Washington 98402 Phone: (253) 428-3824 Fax: (253) 428-3826 Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendants Attorney for Plaintiff I certify that this memorandum contains 395 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules.

1 ORDER 2 The case is held in abeyance until October 3, 2024. The parties shall submit a status update on or before October 3, 2024. It is so ORDERED.

DATED this 30th day of April, 2024.

A RICARDO S. MARTINEZ UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE