In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit No. 16-4220 RUDER M. CALDERON-RAMIREZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JAMES W. MCCAMENT, Acting Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and ELAINE C. DUKE, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Defendants-Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 16 C 8089 — Milton I. Shadur, Judge. ARGUED OCTOBER 23, 2017 — DECIDED DECEMBER 5, 2017 2 No. 16-4220 Before BAUER and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges, and DARROW,* District Judge. BAUER, Circuit Judge. Ruder Calderon-Ramirez, a native and citizen of Guatemala, filed a petition for U Nonimmigrant Status on February 5, 2015. Due to a significant backlog, Ramirez is waiting to be evaluated for the waiting list. On August 15, 2016, he filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the Northern District of Illinois requesting that the district court compel Leon Rodriguez, Director of Homeland Security, and Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security, (collectively, “Defendants”), to adjudicate his U-visa petition. Ramirez argues the wait to be placed on the waiting list is unreasonable. The district court granted the Defendants’ motion to dismiss. Ramirez now appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND In October 2000, Congress created the U-visa through the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (“the Act”), Pub. L. No. 106-386, Div. A, 114 Stat. 1464 (2000), codified at inter alia, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(U). The Act created a new nonimmigrant visa classification that permits immigrants who are victims of serious crimes and who assist law enforcement to apply for and receive a non- immigrant visa called a U-visa. Id. The U-visa provides legal status to petitioners and qualifying family members to apply for work authorization and remain in the United States. Id. In * Of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, sitting by designation. No. 16-4220 3 order to qualify, the Department of Homeland Security must determine that: (1) the petitioner “suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of criminal activity ”; (2) the petitioner “possesses information concerning [the] criminal activity”; (3) the petitioner has been, is, or is likely to be helpful to government officials regarding the criminal activity; and, (4) the criminal activity at issue occurred in or violated the laws of the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(U)(i)(I-IV). Congress enacted a statutory cap of 10,000 U-visas each fiscal year. 8 U.S.C. § 1184(p)(2)(A). Because of this cap, a waiting list exists for petitioners seeking adjudication. 8 C.F.R. § 214.14(d)(2). This results in two separate waiting periods and two adjudications for each petitioner—one for placement on the waiting list and one to receive a U-visa. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will grant eligible petitioners and qualifying family members on the waiting list deferred action and work authorization while they wait for final adjudication. Id. However, those who are waiting to be placed on the waiting list ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals