United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Argued November 2, 2020 Decided August 17, 2021 No. 20-5032 GUNAY MIRIYEVA, ET AL., APPELLANTS v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES AND TRACY RENAUD, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY ONLY, APPELLEES Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 1:19-cv-03351) Jennifer M. Wollenberg argued the cause for appellants. With her on the briefs was Douglas W. Baruch. Catherine M. Reno, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for appellees. On the brief were Ethan P. Davis, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Colin A. Kisor, Deputy Director, Elianis N. Perez, Assistant Director, and C. Frederick Sheffield, Senior Litigation Counsel. 2 Before: SRINIVASAN, Chief Judge, ROGERS and WALKER, Circuit Judges. Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge WALKER. WALKER, Circuit Judge: In 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c), Congress set out the path for judicial review of certain claims intertwined with denied naturalization applications. Miriyeva strayed from that path when she filed suit in the District of Columbia. We therefore affirm the district court’s dismissal of Miriyeva’s claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. I When this case began, Gunay Miriyeva and three others were seeking naturalization under 8 U.S.C. § 1440. Since then, all but Miriyeva became naturalized citizens. The claims of the three naturalized citizens are moot. See Foretich v. United States, 351 F.3d 1198, 1210 (D.C. Cir. 2003). Because Miriyeva has yet to become a naturalized citizen, we proceed with the question in this case under Miriyeva’s facts. Miriyeva is a citizen of Azerbaijan who lawfully entered the United States and, at the time she appeared in the district court, was a resident of San Diego, California. Hoping to become a naturalized United States citizen, she enlisted in the United States Army in 2016 through the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program. Under this initiative, noncitizens can follow an expedited path to citizenship by serving honorably in the military without having to first gain lawful permanent residence. Specifically: 3 Any person who, while an alien or a noncitizen national of the United States, has served honorably as a member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve or in an active- duty status in the military, air, or naval forces of the United States . . . and who, if separated from such service, was separated under honorable conditions, may be naturalized as provided in this section . . . . 8 U.S.C. § 1440(a) (emphasis added). In 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services initially approved Miriyeva’s application for naturalization under the program. Miriyeva then needed to complete the oath of citizenship to become a naturalized citizen. But before the agency scheduled Miriyeva’s oath ceremony, the Army sent her to basic training. And while at training, a medical condition abruptly ended her service. When a soldier’s service ends, the Army assigns one of four separation categories: (1) “honorable,” (2) “general (under honorable conditions),” …
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