Dzhanpolatov v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

Background

Bekzad Dzhanpolatov asked the court to order United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to either issue him temporary I-551 evidence, also called an ADIT stamp, or complete its decisions on his pending Form I-130 and Form I-485 applications within four days. He filed the action and his initial request for emergency relief 12 days after submitting his Form I-485 application.

Dzhanpolatov initially complained that USCIS had not acted on his request to expedite processing within 10 days. He later acknowledged that USCIS had denied the expedite request. He argued that the denial was mistaken because he needed favorable action on his application to enlist in the United States Army, not merely for employment purposes.

Legal standard

For a preliminary injunction—an order issued before final judgment—a plaintiff must show a likelihood of success on the merits, likely irreparable harm without the order, a favorable balance of hardships, and that the order would serve the public interest. The court also applied the Ninth Circuit’s sliding-scale approach, under which serious questions on the merits may sometimes support relief if the balance of hardships strongly favors the plaintiff and the other requirements are met.

Court’s reasoning

The court found that Dzhanpolatov’s application met none of these standards. It rejected his claimed irreparable harm because a delay in his ability to enlist in the Army was not enough, particularly because he had not shown that USCIS had caused an egregious or unwarranted delay.

The court also concluded that the requested relief was effectively a decision on the merits. Requiring USCIS to complete its adjudication of the Form I-485 application would resolve the case. The court explained that an ADIT stamp is not temporary or conditional approval that can come before a decision on permanent-resident status. Instead, it is evidence that permanent-resident status has already been granted. The court therefore treated the request for an ADIT stamp as equivalent to asking USCIS to decide the Form I-485 application, and potentially as seeking even more because the stamp would be available only if the application had been acted on and granted.

Disposition

The court denied the motion for injunctive relief. It also granted Dzhanpolatov’s motion for leave to file a reply brief and deemed the proposed brief filed.