Dietz v. Mayorkas
- Donna Ryu
- 4:23-cv-01021
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Dietz v. Mayorkas, Judge Ryu ordered the naturalization case remanded to immigration officials, which must issue a notice and decide the application on a set schedule.
The plaintiff, Shallu Rani Dietz, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are directly affected. USCIS must issue the specified notice and decide the naturalization application on the schedule in the order.
What happened
Shallu Rani Dietz sued Alejandro Mayorkas and other defendants under a federal law allowing a district court to address a naturalization application delayed more than 120 days after the applicant’s interview. The application was pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency handling naturalization applications.
The parties agreed that the court would send the case back to the agency. The court ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to take necessary actions, including issuing a Notice of Intent to Deny within 14 days of the remand. The agency must issue a decision within 30 days after receiving the plaintiff’s response. Each side must pay its own costs and fees.
Judge Donna M. Ryu approved the parties’ stipulation and ordered the remand. The court did not decide the naturalization application itself.
The detailed version
- Dietz v. Mayorkas · No. 4:23-cv-01021
- Donna Ryu
- May 9, 2023
Background
The plaintiff brought the action under 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b), a law addressing naturalization applications that have remained pending for more than 120 days after the applicant’s interview. The opinion states that the plaintiff asked the court to adjudicate the pending application before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
USCIS was prepared to resolve the matter by adjudicating the application, but it could not do so until the court remanded the case to the agency. The parties therefore submitted a stipulation—a written agreement for the court’s approval—requesting a remand under § 1447(b).
Order
The court ordered the case remanded to USCIS. The order directs USCIS to take all necessary actions, including issuing a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) on the plaintiff’s naturalization application, within 14 days after the remand. USCIS must issue a decision within 30 days after receiving the plaintiff’s response to the NOID.
The order also provides that each party will bear its own costs and fees. It does not decide whether the plaintiff will receive naturalization; it sends the matter back to USCIS for agency action.
Classification and judge
This is a procedural order because the court remanded the matter without deciding the naturalization application on its merits. Judge Donna M. Ryu approved the parties’ stipulation and ordered the remand.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.