UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GURU P. PALAKURU, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 1:20-cv-02065 (TNM) TRACY RENAUD, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 1 Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff Guru P. Palakuru sues Tracy Renaud, who currently performs the duties of Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS” or “the Government”). Palakuru claims that the Government’s delay in adjudicating his visa petition is unreasonable. Among other relief, he seeks an order compelling the Government to adjudicate his petition within 30 days. The Government moves to dismiss. Because Palakuru has failed to allege a plausible claim of unreasonable delay under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), the Court will grant the motion. I. A. This case concerns the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which allows foreign investors to enter the United States “for the purpose of engaging in a new commercial enterprise” that 1 Under Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Tracy Renaud is substituted for Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, former Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as the Defendant in this suit. meets certain criteria. 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(5)(A). To qualify, the investment must “create full- time employment for not fewer than 10 United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or other immigrants lawfully authorized to be employed in the United States (other than the immigrant and the immigrant’s spouse, sons, or daughters).” Id. § 1153(b)(5)(A)(ii). The investment must also be at or above a certain dollar amount. See id. § 1153(b)(5)(C); 8 C.F.R. § 204.6(f). Aside from creating jobs directly by hiring employees, foreign investors can invest in a “regional center” designated by USCIS that is designed to create jobs indirectly through economic growth. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.6(m); see also id. § 204.6(e) (defining a “[r]egional center” as “any economic unit, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, including increased export sales, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment”). Foreign investors may petition to be classified as an EB-5 immigrant by using a Form I- 526. See id. § 204.6(a), (c). The approval of the Form I-526 is the first step towards becoming a lawful permanent resident. Def.’s Mem. Supp. Mot. to Dismiss (“Def.’s Mem.”) at 8, ECF No. 9-1. 2 An approved Form I-526 allows the foreign investor and his dependent family members to obtain “legal U.S. resident” status “on a conditional basis for two years.” Wang v. USCIS, 375 F. Supp. 3d 22, 26 (D.D.C. 2019). USCIS generally processes petitions according to a “first-in, first-out” method, but prioritizes petitions from countries “where visas are immediately available, or soon available” based on per-country limits. 3 This process allows visa petitioners from countries where visas are 2 All page citations are to the page numbers that the CM/ECF system generates. 3 USCIS Adjusts Process for Managing EB-5 Visa Petition Inventory, U.S. Citizenship and Immigr. Servs. (Jan. 29, ...
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