Shao v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:22-cv-06554
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Judge Caproni dismissed Shao v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as moot after the agency requested evidence on his application.
Guoxin Shao and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The case was closed after USCIS issued a Request for Evidence, and the order states that Shao may bring another action concerning a future delay if jurisdictional requirements are met.
What happened
Guoxin Shao, representing himself, sued United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to require the agency to decide his application for lawful permanent resident status. The agency later issued Shao a request for evidence about that application.
The Government told the court that the request for evidence made the case moot, meaning there was no longer a live dispute for the court to decide. Shao confirmed receiving the request and agreed that the case should be dismissed.
Judge Valerie Caproni dismissed the case as moot. The order says this dismissal does not prevent Shao from bringing another case if a future delay meets the requirements for federal-court jurisdiction.
The detailed version
- Shao v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services · No. 1:22-cv-06554
- Valerie Caproni
- May 15, 2023
Background
Guoxin Shao filed the case without a lawyer against United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). He asked the court to compel USCIS to adjudicate, or decide, his I-485 application for lawful permanent resident status. The Government moved to dismiss the action.
While the case was pending, USCIS issued Shao a Request for Evidence concerning his application. The Government informed the court that this development made the case moot. Shao confirmed that he received the request and stated that he consented to dismissal.
Ruling
The court dismissed the case as moot because USCIS had issued the Request for Evidence and Shao consented to dismissal. A moot case no longer presents a live dispute for the court to resolve. The court did not state that Shao's underlying immigration application had been approved or denied.
The order states that the dismissal does not prejudice Shao from bringing another action if a future delay occurs that satisfies the applicable jurisdictional requirements. Judge Valerie Caproni also directed the Clerk of Court to terminate all open motions, close the case, and send Shao a copy of the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.