Zazay v. Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- CISNEROS
- 3:25-cv-02779
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Zazay v. Director, Judge CISNEROS remanded the naturalization case to USCIS under an agreement setting deadlines for agency action.
Mirwais Zazay and USCIS. Zazay’s naturalization application must be handled by USCIS under the deadlines in the remand order; the order does not decide whether the application will be approved or denied.
What happened
Mirwais Zazay asked the court to decide his naturalization application or require U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to decide it under federal law. USCIS agreed to adjudicate the application after the court sent the case back to the agency.
The court approved the parties’ agreement and remanded the case to USCIS. The agency must issue either a final decision or a notice explaining an intended denial within 14 days of the remand order. If it issues that notice, USCIS must take further action within 45 days after receiving Zazay’s response. Each side must pay its own costs and fees.
Judge CISNEROS entered the order on July 1, 2025. The order did not decide whether Zazay should receive citizenship; it returned the application to USCIS for agency action.
The detailed version
- Zazay v. Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services · No. 3:25-cv-02779
- CISNEROS
- July 1, 2025
Background
Mirwais Zazay brought the case under 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b), asking the court either to adjudicate his application for naturalization or to order USCIS to adjudicate it. The opinion states that USCIS was prepared to resolve the matter by deciding the application but could not do so until the court remanded the case to the agency.
Agreement and Ruling
The parties stipulated to a remand, and the court approved that stipulation. The order directs USCIS to issue a Notice of Intent to Deny, which is a notice that the agency intends to deny the application, or a final decision within 14 days after the remand order. If USCIS issues a Notice of Intent to Deny, it must take further adjudicatory action—approval, denial, another such notice, or a request for evidence—within 45 days after receiving Zazay’s response. The order directs the remand to USCIS at 630 Sansome Street, San Francisco, California 94111.
The parties agreed that each would bear its own costs and fees. Judge J. CISNEROS entered the order on July 1, 2025. The order remanded the case for agency action and did not decide the merits of Zazay’s naturalization application.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.