Lockhart v. Napolitano
| Decision Date | 20 July 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 08-3321.,08-3321. |
| Citation | 573 F.3d 251 |
| Parties | Nelly Supangan LOCKHART, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Janet NAPOLITANO, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, et al., Respondents-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Elizabeth J. Stevens, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Appellants. Brent W. Renison, Parrilli Renison, Lake Oswego, Oregon, for Appellee.
ON BRIEF:
Gjon Juncaj, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Appellants. Barbara A. Firstenberg, Cathy M. Shibley, Law Office, Shaker Heights, Ohio, Brent W. Renison, Parrilli Renison, Lake Oswego, Oregon, for Appellee.
Before: COLE and GIBBONS, Circuit Judges; BELL, District Judge.*
The United States Citizen and Immigration Services ("USCIS") denied Petitioner Nelly Supangan Lockhart's ("Lockhart" or "Mrs. Lockhart") application for an adjustment of status to that of permanent United States resident on the ground that she was statutorily ineligible for such adjustment because she was no longer an "immediate relative" under the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq., upon the death of her husband. Lockhart filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, seeking injunctive, declaratory, and mandamus relief to compel Respondent Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security ("Secretary" of "DHS"), to find, as a matter of law, that she is an "immediate relative" under INA, § 204(b)(2)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i), and to reopen and readjudicate her application for adjustment of status. The sole issue before us is a question of law, which requires us to interpret language of the INA to resolve a matter of first impression in this Circuit. The question is whether an alien-spouse, whose citizen-spouse filed the necessary "immediate relative" petition form under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1154, 1255(c)(4), but died within two years of the qualifying marriage, qualifies as a spouse under the "immediate relative" provision of the INA. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that a "surviving alien-spouse" is a "spouse" within the meaning of the "immediate relative" provision of the INA. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the district court's grant of summary judgment for Lockhart.
The facts are not in dispute. Lockhart is a citizen of the Philippines who was lawfully admitted to the United States on December 15, 2003. Shortly thereafter, on January 20, 2004, she married Gerald Lockhart ("Mr.Lockhart"), a United States citizen. Following the marriage, on February 1, 2004, Mr. Lockhart filed a Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) petition with the Cleveland, Ohio Field Office of the USCIS attesting Mrs. Lockhart's status as his spouse and requesting her classification as an "immediate relative" under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i). On the same day, Mrs. Lockhart filed a Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a). As described below, "immediate relative" status is a prerequisite to eligibility for adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a).
Four months later, on June 24, 2004, Lockhart gave birth to a son, Justin Carlyle Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart was listed as Justin's father. During this time, the USCIS began processing the Lockharts' Form I-130 petition and Form I-485 application. In April or May, 2005, the USCIS interviewed the Lockharts. At the interview, both Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart testified as to the validity of their marriage. On April 6, 2005, the USCIS requested additional evidence from Mrs. Lockhart, which she subsequently sent to the Cleveland, Ohio office in April 2005.
On December 21, 2005, Mr. Lockhart died suddenly of a heart attack. At the time of Mr. Lockhart's death, he and Mrs. Lockhart had been married for one year and eleven months, and the USCIS had not adjudicated the Form I-130 petition or the Form I-485 application. On June 27, 2006, more than two years after Mr. Lockhart filed his petition and his wife filed her application, the USCIS requested a copy of Mr. Lockhart's death certificate. Thereafter, on October 26, 2006, the USCIS denied the Form I-130 petition and the Form I-485 application. USCIS denied the Form I-130 petition solely on the ground that, upon the death of her United States citizen husband, Mrs. Lockhart was no longer the "spouse" of a United States citizen and was, therefore, not entitled to treatment as an "immediate relative" under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i). The USCIS subsequently denied Mrs. Lockhart's Form I-485 application because it was dependent on approval of the Form I-130 petition.
On November 20, 2006, Mrs. Lockhart filed a motion to reopen and reconsider the denial of her deceased husband's Form I-130 petition. On December 4, 2006, the USCIS denied this motion without explanation. Currently, Lockhart is in removal proceedings before the United States Immigration Court in Cleveland, Ohio.
On March 20, 2007, Lockhart filed a petition for a writ of mandamus and a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Lockhart later amended the complaint to request injunctive, declaratory, and mandamus relief to compel the Secretary (1) to find that, as a matter of law, she is an "immediate relative" under INA § 204(b)(2)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i), and (2) to reopen and readjudicate Mr. Lockhart's Form I-130 petition and her I-485 application for adjustment of status. Thereafter, the Secretary filed a motion to dismiss Mrs. Lockhart's petition for mandamus relief and her complaint. Lockhart filed a motion for summary judgment. After considering the motions, the district court concluded that Lockhart is a "spouse" under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i), denied the Secretary's motion to dismiss, and granted summary judgment in favor of Lockhart. This timely appeal followed.
This Court reviews the district court's determination of a non-discretionary "purely legal question, such as the proper definition of `spouse' under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i)" de novo. Freeman v. Gonzales, 444 F.3d 1031, 1037 (9th Cir.2006) (citing De Martinez v. Ashcroft, 374 F.3d 759, 761 (9th Cir.2004)); see also Sanusi v. Gonzales, 474 F.3d 341, 345 (6th Cir.2007).
The INA provides numerical limits on the number of aliens who may be issued immigrant visas or admitted to the United States for permanent residence. 8 U.S.C. § 1151(a). However, the "immediate relatives" of United States citizens are not subject to the direct numerical limitations. See 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b). In order for an alien to immigrate as an "immediate relative" based on a close family relationship to a citizen or resident, a qualifying family relationship must exist. 8 U.S.C. § 1151. The alien is not automatically accorded the status of "immediate relative" under this provision; instead, the United States citizen or lawful permanent resident to whom the alien is related must file a Form I-130 petition on the alien's behalf with the USCIS to establish the existence of the relationship. 8 U.S.C. § 1154(a)(1)(A)(i). The USCIS shall approve the petition if it determines, after investigating the facts in each case, that the facts stated in the petition are true and the alien is an immediate relative. 8 U.S.C. § 1154(b).
Following the USCIS's approval of the citizen's petition, an immigrant visa is immediately available to the alien, and the alien is eligible for an adjustment of status to that of permanent resident. 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a); 8 C.F.R. § 245.2(a)(2). Adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C. § 1255 is a two-step process. First, the alien must prove statutory eligibility for the adjustment, and second, the Attorney General—or, in the context of deportation proceedings, the immigration judge—must exercise his discretion to grant relief.
The question before this Court is whether an alien-spouse whose citizen-spouse filed the necessary "immediate relative" form under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1154, 1255(c)(4), but died within two years of the qualifying marriage, nonetheless remains a "spouse" under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i) and is entitled to treatment as a "spouse" when the DHS adjudicates that alien's petition to adjust his/her status to that of a lawful permanent resident. Two other circuit courts have weighed in on this precise issue, but they reached opposite conclusions. See Freeman v. Gonzales, 444 F.3d 1031 (9th Cir.2006) and Robinson v. Napolitano, 554 F.3d 358 (3d Cir.2009). In Freeman, the Ninth Circuit held that the "language, structure, purpose and application" of § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i) indicate that Congress intended a surviving alien-spouse to remain a "spouse" under the "immediate relative" provision despite the death of the citizen-spouse. See Freeman, 444 F.3d at 1039. In Robinson, the Third Circuit reached the opposite conclusion, finding that a surviving alien-spouse is not an immediate relative under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i). Robinson, 554 F.3d at 364.
The Secretary argues that Mrs. Lockhart is no longer the spouse of a United States citizen because, as a matter of law, her marriage ended when Mr. Lockhart died. Put simply, the Secretary argues that because Mrs. Lockhart is no longer legally married, she is likewise no longer Mr. Lockhart's spouse, and, therefore, no longer an "immediate relative." We disagree. As set forth below, we are persuaded by the reasoning of the Ninth Circuit and, therefore, hold that a surviving alien-spouse whose citizen-spouse filed the necessary "immediate relative" form under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1154, 1255(c)(4), but died within two years of the qualifying marriage remains a "spouse" under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b)(2)(A)(i).
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