Redeemed Christian Church of God v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Servs.

• Decision Date: 26 May 2016
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. H-13-2170
• Citation: 387 F.Supp.3d 734
• Parties: The REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD and Joel Onyema Uzoma, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

387 F.Supp.3d 734

The REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD and Joel Onyema Uzoma, Plaintiffs,

v.UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, Defendant.

CIVIL ACTION NO. H-13-2170

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Houston Division.

Signed May 26, 2016

Olusegun Isiaka Asekun, Attorney at Law, Arlington, TX, for Plaintiffs.

Adam Laurence Goldman, Department of Justice, Houston, TX, for Defendant.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO RECONSIDER, VACATING MAY 13, 2015 OPINION, AND ISSUING AMENDED MEMORANDUM AND OPINION

Lee H. Rosenthal, United States District Judge

The Redeemed Christian Church of God and Joel Onyema Uzoma challenge the denial of an I-360 Petition that the Redeemed Church filed on Uzoma’s behalf. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") moved for summary judgment. (Docket Entry No. 50). The plaintiffs responded and cross-moved for summary judgment; the USCIS responded. (Docket Entry Nos. 52, 53). The court dismissed Uzoma’s claims for lack of standing, denied the USCIS’s motion for summary judgment, granted the Redeemed Church’s motion for summary judgment in part, and remanded to the agency. (Docket Entry No. 55).

The USCIS moved for reconsideration, raising four alleged errors: (1) the court granted summary judgment based on an argument the Redeemed Church did not raise; (2) the court erred in applying substantial-evidence review to the agency’s factual findings; (3) the court applied the wrong standard of review in evaluating the agency’s denial of the Redeemed Church’s motion to reopen; and (4) the court mischaracterized the record evidence and the agency’s decisions. (Docket Entry No. 60). The Redeemed Church responded, and the USCIS replied. (Docket Entry Nos. 61, 66). The USCIS’s briefing on reconsideration correctly pointed out that the court’s May 13, 2015 opinion in part applied the wrong legal standard and was unclear about the final agency action that was the basis for the remand order.

Based on the pleadings, the motions and responses, the certified administrative record, and the applicable law, the court grants the USCIS’s motion for reconsideration, vacates the May 13, 2015 Memorandum and Opinion, and issues this amended Memorandum and Opinion in its place. On reconsideration, the analysis and grounds differ from the prior ruling, but the result is largely unchanged. On reconsideration, the court grants the Redeemed Church’s motion for summary judgment and remands this case to the agency to clarify the reasons supporting its denial of the I-360 Petition the Redeemed Church filed on Uzoma’s behalf. In particular, the agency should explain whether it considered all the evidence submitted, including the testimonial evidence. If not, the agency should reevaluate its decision in light of that evidence, making credibility and reliability judgments necessary to rule on the relief the Redeemed Church sought.

The reasons for this ruling are explained below.

I. Background

A. I-360 Petitions

To obtain an immigrant religious-worker visa, a worker’s employer must file a Form I-360. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m). Under the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. , an I-360 immigrant visa is for a "special immigrant religious worker." This visa is available to ministers and other religious workers operating in either a professional or nonprofessional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation, as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(C). See also 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(2).

The I-360 Petition the Redeemed Church filed on Uzoma’s behalf invokes 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(C). That section defines "special immigrant":

(27) The term "special immigrant" means—

...

(C) an immigrant, and the immigrant’s spouse and children if accompanying or following to join the immigrant, who

...

(ii) seeks to enter the United States—

(I) solely for the purpose of carrying on the vocation of a minister of that religious denomination,

(II) before September 30, 2015, in order to work for the organization at the request of the organization in a professional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation, or

(III) before September 30, 2015, in order to work for the organization (or for a bona fide organization which is affiliated with the religious denomination and is exempt from taxation as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of Title 26) at the request of the organization in a religious vocation or occupation[.]

8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(C)(ii).

The process for a special-immigrant worker visa begins when a religious organization files an I-360 Petition on the worker’s behalf. The director of a USCIS field office—here, the Director of the USCIS California Civil Service Center—reviews the Petition. If it is approved, the beneficiary may apply for a visa either from abroad or, if already in the United States, to adjust of status to a lawful permanent resident. Id. If the Petition is denied, the petitioner may appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office. 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. Under some circumstances, the Director may certify its decision directly to the Appeals Office. 8 C.F.R. § 103.4.

The regulations require religious employers to provide specific information with the I-360 Petition to show the alien’s eligibility for classification as a special immigrant religious worker. The regulation states:

(m) Religious workers. This paragraph governs classification of an alien as a special immigrant religious worker as defined in section 101(a)(27)(C) of the Act and under section 203(b)(4) of the Act. To be eligible for classification as a special immigrant religious worker, the alien (either abroad or in the United States) must:

(1) For at least the two years immediately preceding the filing of the petition have been a member of a religious denomination that has a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the United States.

(2) Be coming to the United States to work in a full time (average of at least 35 hours per week) compensated position in one of the following occupations as they are defined in paragraph (m)(5) of this section:

(i) Solely in the vocation of a minister of that religious denomination;

(ii) A religious vocation either in a professional or nonprofessional capacity; or

(iii) A religious occupation either in a professional or nonprofessional capacity.

(3) Be coming to work for a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the United States, or a bona fide organization which is affiliated with the religious denomination in the United States.

(4) Have been working in one of the positions described in paragraph (m)(2) of this section, either abroad or in lawful immigration status in the United States, and after the age of 14 years continuously for at least the two-year period immediately preceding the filing of the petition.

8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m).

The "petitioning organization"—the religious employer—must certify in the petition that it is a "bona fide non-profit religious organization" or affiliate; that "the alien has worked as a religious worker for the two years immediately preceding the filing of the application and is otherwise qualified for the position offered"; and that "the alien has been a member of the denomination for at least two years immediately preceding the filing of the application." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(7). The employer must also certify that "the alien will not engage in secular employment." Id. The employer must file evidence showing that it is a religious denomination or affiliated with one and that the employee is religiously qualified. The employer must also file evidence of the religious employee’s compensation and prior employment. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(8)–(12).

A religious-entity employer may obtain an R-1 nonimmigrant visa for a religious worker to come to the United States temporarily. While the religious worker is in the United States, the employer may file an I-360 Petition seeking a special immigrant visa on the worker’s behalf. If granted, the visa provides the basis for the worker to obtain an adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident. That is what the Redeemed Christian Church unsuccessfully tried to do for Uzoma.

B. The Redeemed Church’s I-360 Petition for Uzoma

1. The April 2006 Filing

The Redeemed Christian Church is a religious entity incorporated in Texas in December 2003. It obtained tax-exempt status under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in June 2004. The Redeemed Christian Church filed an I-129 Petition to have Joel Uzoma, a Nigerian citizen, admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant religious worker. Uzoma entered the United States on October 14, 2003 as a nonimmigrant visitor. (Certified Administrative Record ("CAR") 118, 719). Uzoma’s wife and son had entered seven days earlier, also as nonimmigrant visitors. (Id. ).

In November 2003, the USCIS approved the I-129 Petition for Uzoma and related Petitions for Uzoma’s wife and son. (CAR 118–19, 719). Their admission statuses expired in November 2006. (CAR 719, 747). The Redeemed Christian Church then filed an I-360 Petition on Uzoma’s behalf in April 2006, seeking to have him classified as a special immigrant religious worker. (CAR 719, 721). The Petition listed Uzoma’s wife and son as derivative beneficiaries. (Id. ). The Redeemed Christian Church included evidence about its tax-exempt status, Uzoma’s qualifications and experience, his role at the Church, and his financial status. (CAR 723–963).

2. The Director Denies the Petition

In December 2006, the USCIS sent the Redeemed Christian Church a request for evidence. The request sought information verifying that the Redeemed Christian Church qualified as a nonprofit organization, that it had a connection with Uzoma, and that it was able to pay Uzoma until he obtained lawful permanent residence. (CAR 520–23). The request also asked the Church to provide evidence about Uzoma’s experience as a religious worker, the requirements of his position, his work history from 2004 to 2006, the amounts the Church had paid him, and how Uzoma supported...