Alexander Salgar v. Kristie Noem, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas holds that it has subject-matter jurisdiction over Alexander Salgar’s claim that USCIS unreasonably delayed adjudicating his VAWA I-360 self-petition. The court concludes that a 17-month delay was not unreasonable because the estimated processing time was 45 months and grants the defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

Holdings

1. The district court had subject-matter jurisdiction to review Salgar's complaint alleging unlawful agency delay because 5 U.S.C. § 555(b) imposes a nondiscretionary duty on USCIS to adjudicate asylum applications within a reasonable time.
2. A seventeen-month delay in adjudicating Salgar's application was not unreasonable where the estimated processing time for similar VAWA I-360 self-petitions was forty-five months and the application remained within normal processing times.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court had subject-matter jurisdiction to review Salgar's claim that USCIS unlawfully delayed adjudication of his application.
2. Whether USCIS had unreasonably delayed adjudication of Salgar's application under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Disposition

other