Banukumar v. Mayorkas

Background

Satish Kumar Banukumar asked the court to review his pending application for naturalization under 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b). He applied to USCIS for United States citizenship on March 25, 2022, and USCIS interviewed him on November 22, 2022. USCIS later requested records concerning a May 10, 2020 arrest and related protective or no-contact orders. USCIS had not decided the application.

Section 1447(b) allows a naturalization applicant to seek a district-court hearing when USCIS has not acted within 120 days after the examination. The court may either decide the application or send it back to USCIS for a decision.

Arguments

The defendants moved to remand the matter to USCIS. They represented that USCIS was prepared to decide Banukumar’s application within 15 days after remand. Banukumar argued that the delay had been needless and expressed concern that remand could cause further delay if USCIS denied the application and he had to complete additional administrative steps before returning to court. He also argued that the court lacked enough information to give appropriate remand instructions and that the defendants had not provided the results of their investigation or their position on his eligibility.

Court’s reasoning

The court held that more than 120 days had passed since Banukumar’s interview, so it had authority under Section 1447(b) either to decide the application or to remand it. The court explained that USCIS was better positioned to conduct the investigation and make the initial naturalization decision. Conducting the court’s own fact-finding would require additional litigation, while USCIS represented that it could complete the adjudication within 15 days.

The court rejected Banukumar’s reliance on a case involving a much longer delay and other circumstances that were not present here. It also concluded that a court may remand with instructions requiring an agency decision by a court-imposed deadline and is not required to conduct additional fact-finding before remanding.

Disposition

The court granted the defendants’ Motion to Remand. It ordered USCIS to adjudicate Banukumar’s naturalization application within 15 days of the order. The Clerk was directed to administratively close the case, which the order stated does not affect the parties’ substantive rights. The parties may request that the case be reopened if necessary. The order did not decide whether Banukumar is eligible for naturalization.