A.H.Z v. Mayorkas

[6] 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE [9] A.H.Z., Case No. 2:24-cv-01983-JHC [10] Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION TO HOLD 11 v. CASE IN ABEYANCE AND ORDER 12 KRISTI NOEM, et al.,1 Noted for Consideration: January 27, 2025 13 Defendants. [14] Plaintiff and Defendants, by and through their counsel of record, pursuant to Federal Rule [15] of Civil Procedure 6 and Local Rules 7(d)(1), 10(g) and 16, hereby jointly stipulate and move to [16] stay these proceedings until August 15, 2025. Plaintiff brought this litigation pursuant to the [17] Administrative Procedure Act and Mandamus Act seeking, inter alia, to compel U.S. Citizenship [18] and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to schedule an interview and adjudicate his asylum [19] application. Defendants’ response to the Complaint is currently due on February 4, 2025. The [22] 23 1 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), Defendants substitute Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) Acting Director Jennifer 24 B. Higgins for Ur M. Jaddou. 1 parties are currently working towards a resolution to this litigation. For good cause, the parties 2 request that the Court hold the case in abeyance until August 15, 2025. 3 Courts have “broad discretion” to stay proceedings. Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681 , 706 4 (1997). “[T]he power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to 5 control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for 6 counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also Fed. R. Civ. 7 P. 1 . 8 With additional time, this case may be resolved without the need of further judicial 9 intervention. USCIS has scheduled Plaintiff’s asylum interview for April 17, 2025. USCIS 10 agrees to diligently work towards completing the adjudication within 120 days of the interview, 11 absent unforeseen or exceptional circumstances that would require additional time for 12 adjudication. If the adjudication is not completed within that time, USCIS will provide a status 13 report to the Court. Plaintiff will submit all supplemental documents and evidence, if any, to 14 USCIS seven to ten days prior to the interview date. Plaintiff recognizes that failure to submit 15 documents prior to the interview may require the interview to be rescheduled and the 16 adjudication delayed. If needed, Plaintiff will bring an interpreter to the interview, otherwise the 17 interview will need to be rescheduled and the adjudication delayed. Once the application is 18 adjudicated, Plaintiff will dismiss the case with each party to bear their own litigation costs and 19 attorneys’ fees. Accordingly, the parties request this abeyance to allow USCIS to conduct 20 Plaintiff’s asylum interview and then process his asylum application. 21 As additional time is necessary for this to occur, the parties request that the Court hold 22 the case in abeyance until August 15, 2025. The parties will submit a status update on or before 23 August 15, 2025. 24 // 1 DATED this 27th day of January, 2025. 2 Respectfully submitted, 3 TESSA M. GORMAN O’SULLIVAN LAW OFFICE United States Attorney [4] s/ Michelle R. Lambert s/ Jane Marie O’Sullivan 5 MICHELLE R. LAMBERT, NYS #4666657 JANE MARIE O’SULLIVAN WSBA#34486 Assistant United States Attorney O’Sullivan Law Office 6 United States Attorney’s Office 2417 Pacific Avenue SE, 2nd Floor Western District of Washington Olympia, Washington 98501 7 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 700 Phone: 206-340-9980 Tacoma, Washington 98402 Email: jane@osullivanlawoffice.com 8 Phone: (253) 428-3824 Attorney for Plaintiff Fax: (253) 428-3826 9 Email: michelle.lambert@usdoj.gov 10 Attorneys for Defendants 11 I certify that this memorandum contains 395 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules. [24] 1 ORDER 2 The case is held in abeyance until August 15, 2025. The parties shall submit a status 3 update on or before August 15, 2025. It is so ORDERED. 4 DATED this 27th day of January, 2025. [5] aka M. Chun JOHN H. CHUN 7 United States District Judge [10] 1]