Case: 21-50139 Document: 00516160665 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/10/2022 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED January 10, 2022 No. 21-50139 Lyle W. Cayce Summary Calendar Clerk Ezequiel Flores; Jose Luis Flores; Martha M. Flores; Juan C. Flores; Victor M. Flores, Plaintiffs—Appellants, versus District Director Margaret A. Hartnett; Tae D. Johnson, Acting Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Defendants—Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 3:20-CV-140 Before Owen, Chief Judge, and Southwick and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* * Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4. Case: 21-50139 Document: 00516160665 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/10/2022 No. 21-50139 The Flores siblings claim United States citizenship under 8 U.S.C. § 1409(c). The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denied their Applications for Certificate of Citizenship (Forms N-600). They did not appeal this denial to the Administrative Appeal Office (AAO) and instead filed suit in federal court. The district court granted the Government’s motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), agreeing that it did not have jurisdiction because the Flores siblings failed to exhaust their administrative remedies. We AFFIRM. I The Flores siblings allege that they were born out of wedlock in Mexico and that their mother is a citizen of the United States who had been physically present in the United States for a continuous one-year period prior to each of their births. They submitted Forms N-600 and attached their mother’s Mexican birth certificate, her Certificate of Citizenship, her affidavit regarding her physical presence in the United States, and blood test results confirming the mother-child relationship. USCIS denied their applications. Rather than administratively appeal the denials to the AAO, the Flores siblings filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. They requested that the district court issue a declaratory judgment under 8 U.S.C. § 1503(a) and a temporary restraining order under Rule 65. The Government filed a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction asserting that Ezequiel Flores, Jose Luis Flores, Juan C. Flores, and Victor M. Flores had failed to exhaust administrative remedies as required by § 1503(a) and that Martha M. Flores had not shown she resides in the United States. The district court ordered the Flores siblings to file a response and show cause why the case should not be dismissed. The Flores siblings conceded that Martha M. Flores was not present in the United States and 2 Case: 21-50139 Document: 00516160665 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/10/2022 No. 21-50139 was therefore ineligible to pursue her claims under § 1503(a). But the remaining siblings argued their case could proceed because § 1503(a) does not require the exhaustion of administrative remedies. The district court granted the Government’s motion …
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