Khamooshpour v. Holder

Decision Date14 February 2011
Docket NumberNo. CV–10–01266–PHX–NVW.,CV–10–01266–PHX–NVW.
Citation781 F.Supp.2d 888
PartiesEskandar KHAMOOSHPOUR, Plaintiff,v.Eric H. HOLDER, Jr. et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Arizona

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Lisa Dibbern Duran, Quarles & Brady LLP, Phoenix, AZ, for Plaintiff.Cynthia M. Parsons, US Attorney's Office, Phoenix, AZ, Sherry Denise Soanes, US Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, and ORDER

NEIL V. WAKE, District Judge.

Plaintiff is before the Court seeking de novo review, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c), of the March 9, 2010 decision of the United States Customs and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) denying his application for naturalization. The Court conducted an evidentiary hearing on Plaintiff's application on January 26 and 27, 2011. This order states the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

I. Findings of Fact

As a preliminary matter, the Court notes that it found all of Mr. Khamooshpour's character witnesses to be credible. The Court found Mr. Khamooshpour to be somewhat credible, although at times his testimony was evasive and strained credulity. To the extent any of the Court's findings below diverge from any aspect of Mr. Khamooshpour's testimony, that is reflective of this credibility determination.

A. Biographical Information and Procedural History

Plaintiff Eskandar Khamooshpour is a citizen and national of Iran. He has been a permanent legal resident of the United States since December 14, 1981. He has a bachelor's degree in physics from the National University of Iran. Mr. Khamooshpour first came to the United States in 1978 on a teaching scholarship and to pursue graduate studies in physics, first in Boston and then in New York. In New York, he met Enid Feld, a United States citizen, whom he later married on July 29, 1980. They were separated in 1983, and the marriage was dissolved upon Ms. Feld's death from Hodgkin's disease on September 19, 1984.

Mr. Khamooshpour moved to Arizona in December 1993. Beginning in 1994, his full-time occupation was operating a family-owned business that facilitated channeling funds between the United States and Iran, although Mr. Khamooshpour reported sporadic involvement in the business prior to 1994. In 2001, Mr. Khamooshpour was arrested on federal charges related to the operation of the business. Mr. Khamooshpour has been involved in the real estate business full-time since 2002. He currently owns two rental properties and serves as a landlord. Mr. Khamooshpour has traveled outside of the United States several times since he first arrived here in 1978, but in the five years prior to filing his naturalization application, Mr. Khamooshpour did not travel outside of the United States. Mr. Khamooshpour also reported involvement with the American Iranian Council from 1994 to 2001, an organization promoting positive relations between the United States and Iran.

Mr. Khamooshpour married Somahyeh Doukhtehchizadehazimi, a citizen of Iran, in a religious ceremony during a trip to Turkey in 1998. The marriage was not consummated at that time, and it is unclear whether the marriage was legally recognized in Iran. Ms. Doukhtehchizadehazimi arrived in the United States on February 6, 2006. She and Mr. Khamooshpour were legally married in Scottsdale, Arizona, on July 28, 2006. Ms. Doukhtehchizadehazimi was residing in the United States on an F–1 student visa at the time of Mr. Khamooshpour's naturalization application; her application for permanent residency is currently pending.

Mr. Khamooshpour filed an application for naturalization with the USCIS on February 26, 2007. On his application, he reported his past history with law enforcement, including a 2007 conviction stemming from his arrest for crimes related to his family's money exchange business. His application otherwise showed his eligibility for naturalization. On April 3, 2009, the USCIS requested additional information from Mr. Khamooshpour regarding the crimes and conviction listed on his application. Mr. Khamooshpour appeared before an adjudications officer for an examination in connection with his naturalization application on August 18, 2009. The USCIS determined that Mr. Khamooshpour could not establish the requisite good moral character necessary for naturalization because of his conviction in 2007 for the crimes underlying his 2001 arrest. Accordingly, the USCIS denied his naturalization application on August 25, 2009. On September 24, 2009, Mr. Khamooshpour filed a request for a hearing on the USCIS decision. He appeared before an adjudications officer on November 18, 2009, but his application was again denied on March 9, 2010 because the USCIS concluded his conviction during the statutory period barred Mr. Khamooshpour from establishing the good moral character requisite for naturalization.

Mr. Khamooshpour sought judicial review of the USCIS's final decision pursuant to § 310(c) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (“INA”) and 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c) on June 15, 2010. On January 26 and 27, 2011, this Court held a de novo evidentiary hearing regarding Mr. Khamooshpour's naturalization application, wherein Mr. Khamooshpour presented evidence of his good moral character.

B. 2007 Conviction

The primary factor relevant to Mr. Khamooshpour's good moral character determination is his 2007 conviction for crimes related to his family-owned money exchange business. As part of this business, Mr. Khamooshpour assisted customers in channeling funds between Iran and the United States. Mr. Khamooshpour did not have a license to facilitate these transactions, although he conducted his business openly and advertised in Iran. Over the course of the business's operation, Mr. Khamooshpour facilitated the exchange of nearly thirty million dollars between Iran and the United States. Mr. Khamooshpour maintained financial accounts in Iran related to the business, which he unlawfully failed to report to the United States.

On September 13, 2001, Mr. Khamooshpour was indicted and charged with numerous federal crimes related to his operation of his family's money exchange business, totaling 285 counts. Mr. Khamooshpour was arrested on these charges on October 5, 2001; he was detained until December 11, 2001. On July 19, 2004, Mr. Khamooshpour pled guilty to two counts of the superseding indictment: 1) violation of the Emergency Economic Powers Act (hereinafter “the Embargo Act), 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701, 1702, 1704, 1705(b), and 31 C.F.R. 560.201, 560.204, and 560.206; and 2) failure to report foreign financial accounts, 31 U.S.C. §§ 5314 and 5322(b), and 31 C.F.R. 103.24. Both counts are classified as Class C felonies. Mr. Khamooshpour also forfeited certain assets as part of his plea agreement.

In the presentence investigation report, Mr. Khamooshpour acknowledged that he was aware it was necessary to have a license from the United States Treasury Department Office of Foreign Asset Control to conduct his business, that he had not obtained a license, and that he knew operating his business without such a license was unlawful. Mr. Khamooshpour also stated that while he believed all of the money exchanges he facilitated were for non-commercial purposes, he did not ask his customers for what purpose they were planning to use the money. He acknowledged that he did not take any steps to verify the identify of his customers or how they ultimately used the funds he helped them exchange. Finally, Mr. Khamooshpour acknowledged that in order to operate his business, he maintained a bank account in Iran and that he unlawfully failed to report this account to the United States, although he claims that his failure to report the account was simply an oversight because it had not occurred to him that an account in Iran was “foreign.”

Although Mr. Khamooshpour was charged with crimes which occurred between 1997 and 2001, arrested in 2001, and reached a plea agreement in 2004, the judgment in his case was not entered until June 19, 2007. Mr. Khamooshpour's cooperation with ongoing investigations caused the three-year delay between his plea and sentencing. The June 19, 2007 judgment adjudicated Mr. Khamooshpour guilty of the two counts to which he pled and sentenced him to five years probation and a fine of $20,000. His probation was terminated after less than two years, on April 29, 2009, due to Mr. Khamooshpour's good performance during his supervised release and as a probationer

C. Other Factors Relating to Mr. Khamooshpour's Moral Character 1. Acts Outside the Statutory Period

Three prior encounters with law enforcement officials were also raised as relevant to Mr. Khamooshpour's moral character determination. These incidents all occurred prior to the statutory period for establishing good moral character.

In 1980, Mr. Khamooshpour traveled to California to recover a debt owed to his family. During this trip, Mr. Khamooshpour was told that Cholla Vista was a good place to visit for shopping and sightseeing. He claims he went to Cholla Vista and somehow accidentally crossed the border into Mexico. Mr. Khamooshpour had a valid student visa in his passport at the time, and there was nothing unlawful about Mr. Khamooshpour leaving the United States, whether he inadvertently or intentionally crossed the border into Mexico. However, when Mr. Khamooshpour attempted to re-enter the United States at the port of entry in San Ysidro, California, he was denied. United States customs officials informed Mr. Khamooshpour that a presidential order prevented Iranian citizens to re-enter the United States due to the hostage situation in Iran. Mr. Khamooshpour was detained overnight in Tijuana, Mexico. He contacted Ms. Feld, who obtained a lawyer who arranged for Mr. Khamooshpour to be paroled into the United States. An exclusion hearing was scheduled in New York, but Mr. Khamooshpour failed to attend because he and Ms. Feld had been married in...

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9 cases
  • Aghaian v. Minassian
    • United States
    • California Court of Appeals
    • 24 Mayo 2021
    ......Relying on Khamooshpour v. Holder (D. Ariz. 2011) 781 F.Supp.2d 888 ( Khamooshpour ), Minassian insists a violation of the Iran Sanctions necessarily reflects bad moral ......
  • Aghaian v. Minassian
    • United States
    • California Court of Appeals
    • 24 Mayo 2021
    ...act of moral turpitude." Once again, we agree with the court's analysis of the issue.Relying on Khamooshpour v. Holder (D. Ariz. 2011) 781 F.Supp.2d 888 ( Khamooshpour ), Minassian insists a violation of the Iran Sanctions necessarily reflects bad moral character. If anything, however, Kham......
  • Aghaian v. Minassian
    • United States
    • California Court of Appeals
    • 24 Mayo 2021
    ...act of moral turpitude." Once again, we agree with the court's analysis of the issue.Relying on Khamooshpour v. Holder (D. Ariz. 2011) 781 F.Supp.2d 888 ( Khamooshpour ), Minassian insists a violation of the Iran Sanctions necessarily reflects bad moral character. If anything, however, Kham......
  • United States v. Salama
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
    • 24 Julio 2012
    ...... See, e.g., Khamooshpour v. Holder, 781 F.Supp.2d 888, 896 (D.Ariz.2011) (Reasoning that an unlawful act under 8 C.F.R. § 316.10(b)(3)(iii) does not necessarily have to be ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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