UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MANOUCHEHR JAFARZADEH, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil Action No. 16-1385 (JDB) KEVIN McALEENAN, Acting Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 1 et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Manouchehr Jafarzadeh and Shahnaz Karami, husband and wife, have faced a long and difficult path to becoming lawful permanent residents of the United States. Karami waited for years for her application for lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) status to be granted. Jafarzadeh also waited for years, only to have his application denied by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). When Karami and Jafarzadeh discovered that their applications had been subject to heightened review under USCIS’s Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (“CARRP”) policy, they filed this lawsuit. Their amended complaint alleged that CARRP violates the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 551 et seq., and they sought to have Jafarzadeh’s application for LPR status adjudicated without the influence of CARRP. However, in March 2019, an immigration judge granted Jafarzadeh LPR status in removal proceedings. Defendants now move for dismissal of this case as moot. Defs.’ Renewed 1 Kevin McAleenan is automatically substituted for Kirstjen Nielsen, the former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d). 1 Mot. to Dismiss Pls.’ Am. Compl. as Moot (“Defs.’ Renewed Mot. to Dismiss”) [ECF No. 58] at 1. For the reasons that follow, the Court agrees with defendants and finds that it must dismiss the case. BACKGROUND Jafarzadeh is a citizen of Iran who has lived legally and continuously in the United States with his wife, Karami, an Iranian citizen and LPR of the United States, for over three decades. Jafarzadeh v. Nielsen, 321 F. Supp. 3d 19, 24 (D.D.C. 2018). Jafarzadeh applied for LPR status in January 2010, and his application remained pending for years with USCIS, a component of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). Id. at 25. During that time, USCIS processed Jafarzadeh’s application under its CARRP policy, a separate, secret track for processing certain applications that USCIS adopted in 2008. Id.; Defs.’ Notice of Serv. of Admin. R. & Mem. of P. & A. (“Defs.’ Notice of Serv.”) [ECF No. 45] at 2. CARRP was “unknown to anyone outside the government until it was discovered in a court case that was filed in 2010.” Jafarzadeh, 321 F. Supp. 3d at 38–39. Jafarzadeh and his family members filed this suit in 2016 challenging, inter alia, the legality of the CARRP policy under the APA. 2 Id. at 25. USCIS denied Jafarzadeh’s application and placed him in removal proceedings in February 2017. Id.; Am. Compl. [ECF No. 30] ¶ 27. At the conclusion of those proceedings in March 2019, an immigration judge granted Jafarzadeh LPR status. Order of the Immigration Judge, Ex. 1 to Defs.’ Renewed Mot. to Dismiss [ECF No. 58- 1] at 1. 2 Plaintiffs’ original complaint raised several other claims, but all claims except their APA claims were dismissed. See Jafarzadeh, 321 F. Supp. 3d at 24. ...
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