UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BARAK CHACOTY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil Action No. 14-764 (RDM) MIKE POMPEO,1 U.S. Secretary of State, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiffs contend that they are U.S. citizens by birth pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1401(c). That provision confers birthright citizenship on a person born abroad, as Plaintiffs were, if both her parents are U.S. citizens and one of her parents “has had a residence in the United States” prior to her birth. 8 U.S.C. § 1401(c). Each of the Plaintiffs applied to the State Department for proof of citizenship in the form of a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (“CRBA”). The State Department either denied their CRBA applications or, in the case of two of the Plaintiffs, revoked their previously-issued CRBAs. The Department concluded that Plaintiffs are not U.S. citizens because none of their parents satisfied the residency requirement of § 1401(c). Plaintiffs challenge those decisions under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 701 et seq., and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The Court previously concluded that it has jurisdiction to consider Plaintiffs’ claims. The parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment on the merits with respect to two representative plaintiffs are now before the Court. 1 Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d), an “officer’s successor is automatically substituted as a party.” Dkt. 52; Dkt. 53. Both of those plaintiffs initially received CRBAs, which the Department subsequently cancelled. Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment is premised on the contention that § 1401(c)’s “residence” requirement demands no more than “physical presence” in the United States for any period, no matter how short. They argue that the Department itself once employed that test and that its more recent, more demanding test is arbitrary and capricious. The Department, in its opposition and cross-motion, argues that the two representative plaintiffs may not challenge the cancellation of their CRBAs under the APA because the APA cause of action is available only to plaintiffs who have “no other adequate remedy in a court,” 5 U.S.C. § 704, and because 8 U.S.C. § 1503(b) provides an alternative means for a person who is not in the United States to seek a determination of her citizenship. But, even if the APA provides an avenue for challenging the denial or cancellation of a CRBA, the Department continues, the representative plaintiffs’ claims fail on the merits because § 1401(c)’s “residence” requirement demands more than fleeting physical presence in the United States. As explained below, the Court agrees with Plaintiffs that § 1503 does not provide an adequate remedy sufficient to supplant Plaintiffs’ APA causes of action (and does not even arguably supplant their stand-alone due process claims) but agrees with the Department that Plaintiffs’ claims fail on the merits. The Court, accordingly, will DENY Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and will GRANT the Department’s cross-motion. I. BACKGROUND A. Statutory Framework “The general rules for acquiring U.S. citizenship are found in 8 U.S.C. § 1401.” ...
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