Sepideh L. Ghadrdan, et al. v. Alejandro Mayorkas, In his official capacity as Secretary of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina reviews de novo the denial of three Iranian nationals' naturalization applications under 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c). The court holds that the petitioners retained lawful permanent resident status because no final administrative order of removal had been entered, but concludes that they failed to establish continuous residence in the United States for the required five-year period. The court affirms the USCIS decisions to the extent consistent with the memorandum opinion and order.

Holdings

1. Petitioners retained LPR status because their status had not changed through a final administrative order of exclusion, deportation, or removal. Extended absences and possible abandonment did not themselves terminate their LPR status on the record presented.
2. Petitioners failed to establish that they had resided continuously in the United States for the five years immediately preceding the filing of their naturalization applications.
3. The district court could not itself grant the naturalization applications because the Attorney General retains the sole authority to naturalize persons as United States citizens.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Petitioners remained lawfully admitted for permanent residence despite extended absences from the United States and the absence of a final administrative order of removal, exclusion, or deportation.
2. Whether Petitioners established the five-year continuous-residence requirement for naturalization under 8 U.S.C. § 1427(a), where they did not establish a principal, actual dwelling place in the United States until September 2018.
3. Whether the district court could grant the naturalization applications directly.

Disposition

affirmed