Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_07-cv-02462/USCOURTS-cand-3_07-cv-02462-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1361 Petition for Writ of Mandamus

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

HAIQI CHEN,

Plaintiff,

 v.

United States Citizenship and

Immigration Services ("USCIS");

Department of Homeland Security

("DHS"); Department of Justice

("DOJ"); Federal Bureau of

Investigation ("FBI"),

Defendants.

 

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Case No. 07-2462 SC

ORDER DENYING

DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO

DISMISS

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Haiqi Chen ("Chen") filed a Petition for Writ of

Mandamus ("Petition") on May 8, 2007. See Docket No. 1. In this

Petition, Chen seeks to compel the adjudication of his application

to adjust his immigration status ("Application"), which has been

pending for more than four years. See Pet. ¶¶ 2, 4. Now before

the Court is the Motion to Dismiss ("Motion") filed by the

defendants United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

("USCIS"), Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), Department of

Justice ("DOJ"), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI")

(collectively "Defendants"). See Docket No. 15. Plaintiff filed

an Opposition and Defendants submitted a Reply. See Docket Nos.

16, 17. For the following reasons, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss

Case 3:07-cv-02462-SC Document 18 Filed 12/18/07 Page 1 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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1

 F. Gerard Heinauer is the Director of the Nebraska Service

Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is employed by DHS.

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is DENIED.

II. BACKGROUND

Chen is a national of China and a citizen of Canada. Pet. ¶

3. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the

University of Science and Technology in China and his Masters of

Science degree in astrophysics from the Beijing Astronomical

Observatory. Id. ¶ 16. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. in

astrophysics from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. 

Id. Since January 2000, Chen has worked as a senior-level

technology project leader for @Road, Inc., in Fremont, California. 

Id. 

On July 3, 2003, Chen filed an employment-based Adjustment of

Status Application (I-485 form). Opp'n at 3. The Application was

based on a previously approved Immigration Petition for Alien

Worker (Form I-140), filed by @Road, classifying him as a member

of the professions with an advanced degree pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §

1153(b). Opp'n at 3; Pet. ¶ 10. Since July 2003, Chen has

complied with all security investigations, including submitting

fingerprints on three separate occasions; maintained legal nonimmigrant status; and made numerous attempts to determine why his

Application was not being processed. Pet. ¶ 2; Mot. at 4; Opp'n

at 3. The only action preventing adjudication of Chen's

Application is an FBI name check. Heinauer Decl. ¶ 4.1

 This name

check request was submitted to the FBI on July 11, 2003 and the

Case 3:07-cv-02462-SC Document 18 Filed 12/18/07 Page 2 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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2 Defendants, in their Reply, concede that this Court's Order

in Soneji, issued after Defendants filed their Motion in the

present case, squarely addressed, and rejected, Defendants'

arguments in support of dismissing the present case. See Reply at

1.

3

FBI acknowledged receipt of the name check on July 31, 2003. Id.

¶ 19.

III. DISCUSSION

Defendants seek dismissal of Chen's Petition pursuant to

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), for lack of subject

matter jurisdiction, and 12(b)(6), for failure to state a claim. 

In the alternative, Defendants have moved to dismiss the FBI as a

party to the case.

The Court hereby adopts the reasoning of the Order issued in

Soneji v. DHS, No. CV 07-2290, 2007 WL 3101660, at *1 (N.D. Cal.

Oct. 22, 2007). Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for lack of subject

matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim is therefore

DENIED.2

Defendants also move, in the alternative, to dismiss the FBI

as a defendant in the present case. As the Court has jurisdiction

over Chen's Petition and because Chen has stated a valid claim for

relief, the Court need not reach, at this stage, the issue of

whether the FBI is a proper defendant. See Toor v. Still, No. C

07-0645, 2007 WL 20028407, at *3 n. 14 (N.D. Cal. Jul. 10, 2007)

(holding that whether the FBI is a proper defendant need not be

reached on the defendants' Motion to Dismiss because "the Court

has jurisdiction over plaintiff's claims at least as to some of

Case 3:07-cv-02462-SC Document 18 Filed 12/18/07 Page 3 of 4
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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the defendants"). 

IV. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is

DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 18, 2007 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Case 3:07-cv-02462-SC Document 18 Filed 12/18/07 Page 4 of 4