Opinion ID: 1372411
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: The facts are not in dispute. Lockhart is a citizen of the Philippines who was lawfully admitted to the United States on December 15, 2003. Shortly thereafter, on January 20, 2004, she married Gerald Lockhart (Mr.Lockhart), a United States citizen. Following the marriage, on February 1, 2004, Mr. Lockhart filed a Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) petition with the Cleveland, Ohio Field Office of the USCIS attesting Mrs. Lockhart's status as his spouse and requesting her classification as an immediate relative under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i). On the same day, Mrs. Lockhart filed a Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a). As described below, immediate relative status is a prerequisite to eligibility for adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a). Four months later, on June 24, 2004, Lockhart gave birth to a son, Justin Carlyle Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart was listed as Justin's father. During this time, the USCIS began processing the Lockharts' Form I-130 petition and Form I-485 application. In April or May, 2005, the USCIS interviewed the Lockharts. At the interview, both Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart testified as to the validity of their marriage. On April 6, 2005, the USCIS requested additional evidence from Mrs. Lockhart, which she subsequently sent to the Cleveland, Ohio office in April 2005. On December 21, 2005, Mr. Lockhart died suddenly of a heart attack. At the time of Mr. Lockhart's death, he and Mrs. Lockhart had been married for one year and eleven months, and the USCIS had not adjudicated the Form I-130 petition or the Form I-485 application. On June 27, 2006, more than two years after Mr. Lockhart filed his petition and his wife filed her application, the USCIS requested a copy of Mr. Lockhart's death certificate. Thereafter, on October 26, 2006, the USCIS denied the Form I-130 petition and the Form I-485 application. USCIS denied the Form I-130 petition solely on the ground that, upon the death of her United States citizen husband, Mrs. Lockhart was no longer the spouse of a United States citizen and was, therefore, not entitled to treatment as an immediate relative under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i). The USCIS subsequently denied Mrs. Lockhart's Form I-485 application because it was dependent on approval of the Form I-130 petition. On November 20, 2006, Mrs. Lockhart filed a motion to reopen and reconsider the denial of her deceased husband's Form I-130 petition. On December 4, 2006, the USCIS denied this motion without explanation. Currently, Lockhart is in removal proceedings before the United States Immigration Court in Cleveland, Ohio.
On March 20, 2007, Lockhart filed a petition for a writ of mandamus and a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Lockhart later amended the complaint to request injunctive, declaratory, and mandamus relief to compel the Secretary (1) to find that, as a matter of law, she is an immediate relative under INA § 204(b)(2)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i), and (2) to reopen and readjudicate Mr. Lockhart's Form I-130 petition and her I-485 application for adjustment of status. Thereafter, the Secretary filed a motion to dismiss Mrs. Lockhart's petition for mandamus relief and her complaint. Lockhart filed a motion for summary judgment. After considering the motions, the district court concluded that Lockhart is a spouse under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i), denied the Secretary's motion to dismiss, and granted summary judgment in favor of Lockhart. This timely appeal followed.