BETH BLOOM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Petitioner Ghiass Mouhamed Ali ("Petitioner") is a citizen and national of Syria and lawful permanent resident ("LPR") of the United States pursuant to the grant of LPR status by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") on February 27, 2007. See ECF Nos. [37-1] ¶ 15 (Government's Statement of Undisputed Facts); [39-1] ¶ 15 (Petitioner's Statement of Undisputed Facts) (collectively, "Undisputed Facts"). He first entered the United States on a student visa in 1979, and began working at the Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic ("Syrian Embassy") as an Arabic secretary on April 1, 1981. See id. ¶¶ 1-2. Petitioner held an A-2 Visa while employed as a secretary, a position he held until November 6, 1984. See id. ¶¶ 3, 5. On November 16, 1984, Petitioner departed the United States for Syria. See id. ¶ 9.
Petitioner married his wife Hazar Ali in 1983, and on December __, 1984, Ms. Ali gave birth to Sablaa Ali ("Sablaa") in Fairfax County, Virginia. See id. ¶¶ 4, 10. The Government does not dispute Petitioner's claim that he returned to the United States from Syria in December of 1984, following Sablaa's birth. Petitioner claims that he became an Attaché with the Syrian Embassy only upon his return from Syria, on December 23, 1984. See id. ¶ 6. Records from the United States Department of State, however, reflect that the Syrian Government promoted Petitioner to the position of Attaché on November 6, 1984. See id. Petitioner enjoyed full diplomatic immunity throughout his tenure as Attaché, a position he held until November 25, 1986. See id. ¶¶ 7-8.
The record indicates that in 1985, Petitioner applied for a U.S. passport on Sablaa's behalf, which the Department of State denied based on a finding that Sablaa lacked United States citizenship. See id. ¶¶ 11-12; ECF No. [37-6]. Nearly 21 years later, Sablaa filed a Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) on Petitioner's behalf, which the USCIS approved on May 29, 2006 after determining that Sablaa is a United States citizen. See Undisputed Facts ¶¶ 13-14; ECF No. [37-8]. Approved Form I-130 in hand, Petitioner applied for LPR status on August 9, 2006, which the USCIS approved on February 27, 2007. Undisputed Facts ¶ 15; ECF No. [37-9]. After waiting the requisite five years, Petitioner filed an N-400 (Application for Naturalization). Undisputed Facts ¶ 16; ECF No. [37-5]. This time, the USCIS denied Petitioner's application, finding that Sablaa had not obtained United States citizenship at birth due to Petitioner's position as Attaché at that time. See Undisputed Facts ¶¶ 16-17; ECF No. [37-10]. As such, the USCIS determined that Petitioner has never actually been lawfully admitted to the United States, LPR card notwithstanding. See Undisputed Facts ¶¶ 16-17. Petitioner appealed the N-400 denial within the USCIS, and on July 10, 2015, the agency issued its final decision denying Petitioner's application to naturalize. See id. ¶ 18; ECF No. [37-11]. On August 30, 2015, Petitioner filed a petition for review of the USCIS's decision with this Court, and the Government now moves for summary judgment. See ECF Nos. [1], [37]. Petitioner's Response, and the Government's Reply, timely followed. See ECF Nos. [39], [41].
A court may grant a motion for summary judgment "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The parties may support their positions by citation to the record, including, inter alia, depositions, documents, affidavits, or declarations. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). An issue is genuine if "a reasonable
The moving party shoulders the initial burden to demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Shiver v. Chertoff, 549 F.3d 1342, 1343 (11th Cir.2008). If a movant satisfies this burden, "the nonmoving party `must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.'" Ray v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, 327 Fed.Appx. 819, 825 (11th Cir.2009) (quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). Instead, "the non-moving party `must make a sufficient showing on each essential element of the case for which he has the burden of proof.'" Id. (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). The non-moving party must produce evidence, going beyond the pleadings, and by its own affidavits, or by depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, designating specific facts to suggest that a reasonable jury could find in the non-moving party's favor. Shiver, 549 F.3d at 1343. But even where an opposing party neglects to submit any alleged material facts in controversy, the court cannot grant summary judgment unless it is satisfied that all of the evidence on the record supports the uncontroverted material facts that the movant has proposed. See Reese v. Herbert, 527 F.3d 1253, 1268-69, 1272 (11th Cir.2008); United States v. One Piece of Real Prop. Located at 5800 S.W. 74th Ave., Miami, Fla., 363 F.3d 1099, 1103 n. 6 (11th Cir.2004).
The Court reviews de novo the USCIS's denial of Petitioner's N-400. See 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c). In order to succeed on his petition, Petitioner must establish "strict compliance with all the congressionally imposed prerequisites to the acquisition of citizenship." Fedorenko v. United States, 449 U.S. 490, 506, 101 S.Ct. 737, 66 L.Ed.2d 686 (1981); see Berenyi v. Dist. Dir., Immigration & Naturalization Serv., 385 U.S. 630, 637, 87 S.Ct. 666, 17 L.Ed.2d 656 (1967) ("the burden is on the alien applicant to show his eligibility for citizenship in every respect"). On summary judgment, however, the Government shoulders the burden to establish the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Shiver, 549 F.3d at 1343. As explained below, whether Petitioner enjoyed diplomatic immunity at the time of Sablaa's birth — the central issue in this case — remains in dispute. Thus, the Government has failed to meet its burden.
Relevant for purposes of the instant Motion, an applicant for naturalization must have resided within the United States continuously for at least five years "after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence." 8 U.S.C. § 1427(a). Accordingly, an individual is eligible to apply for naturalization
Petitioner complied with all of the above-outlined procedural steps. Sablaa filed a Form I-130 petition on Petitioner's behalf in February of 2006, which the USCIS reviewed and approved, determining that Petitioner is the father of a USC (Sablaa) over the age of 21 years old. See Undisputed Facts ¶¶ 13-14. Petitioner then filed a Form I-485, which the USCIS reviewed and approved on February 27, 2007. Id. ¶ 14. By approving Petitioner's Form I-485 and allowing him to adjust his status to that of an LPR, the USCIS necessarily determined that (1) Petitioner is admissible to the United States for permanent residence and (2) an immigrant visa was immediately available to him through his USC daughter, Sablaa. Six years later, however, the USCIS concluded differently, denying Petitioner's application to naturalize based on its finding that Sablaa is not actually a USC, and that Petitioner was never properly lawfully admitted to the United States.
Although a child born in the United States normally secures citizenship at birth, "[t]he United States Supreme Court has long held that the jurisdiction clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to exclude from its operation children of foreign ministers or diplomatic officers born within the United States." Raya v. Clinton, 703 F.Supp.2d 569, 576 (W.D.Va. 2010) (citing Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 36, 73, 21 S.Ct. 394 (1872) and United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649, 693, 18 S.Ct. 456, 42 S.Ct. 890 (1898)). Whether Sablaa obtained United States citizenship at birth, therefore, depends on Petitioner's diplomatic status at the time of her birth. The answer to that question, in turn, determines whether Petitioner has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence such that he is eligible to naturalize.
Despite her birth in Fairfax, Virginia, the parties agree that Sablaa did not become a USC at birth if Petitioner enjoyed full diplomatic immunity at that time. See Nikoi v. Attorney Gen., 939 F.2d 1065, 1066 (D.C.Cir.1991) ("Because one parent was a foreign official with diplomatic immunity when each child was born, the birth did not confer United States citizenship."). The parties also agree that if Petitioner served as an Attaché with the Syrian Embassy at the time of Sablaa's birth, he enjoyed full diplomatic immunity.
"The determination of whether a person has diplomatic immunity is a mixed question of fact and law." United States v. Al-Hamdi, 356 F.3d 564, 569 (4th Cir. 2004). Pursuant to the Diplomatic Relations Act of 1978, 22 U.S.C. §§ 254a-254e, the governing law in the United States on the issue of diplomatic privileges and immunities is the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations ("Vienna Convention"). See Tabion v. Mufti, 73 F.3d 535, 538 (4th Cir.1996). The Vienna Convention provides diplomatic agents a broad array of privileges and immunities, most notably "absolute immunity from criminal prosecution and protection from most civil and administrative actions brought in the `receiving State,' i.e., the state where they are stationed." Id. at 537. "The Vienna Convention `premise[s] diplomatic immunity upon recognition by the receiving state.'" Raya, 703 F.Supp.2d at 576 (quoting United States v. Lumumba, 741 F.2d 12, 15 (2d Cir.1984)). Under Article 10 of the Vienna Convention, the first step in obtaining diplomatic immunity begins with the sending state "notify[ing] the receiving state of `the appointment of members of the mission, their arrival and their final departure or the termination of their functions with the mission.'" Id. (quoting Vienna Convention, art. 10). Pursuant to Article 43 of the Vienna Convention, the function of a diplomatic agent comes to an end:
Vienna Convention, art. 43. "Once the functions of a person enjoying privileges and immunities have come to an end, such privileges and immunities normally cease `at the moment when he leaves the country, or on expiry of a reasonable period in which to do so.'" Raya, 703 F.Supp.2d at 577 (quoting Vienna Convention, art. 39).
As the Government has the burden on summary judgment, the Court begins with the evidence the Government has produced in support of its position that Petitioner had diplomatic immunity at the time of Sablaa's birth. First, the Government cites to the signed statement of Clifton C. Seagroves, Acting Deputy Director of the State Department's Office of Foreign Missions, who states that Official Department of State records "indicate" that Petitioner assumed his duties as Attaché "effective November 6, 1984." ECF No. [37-12]. In coming to this conclusion, Deputy Director Seagroves relies solely on information contained in the "TOMIS" database. See Motion at 12; ECF Nos. [37-13] and [39-5] at 146:4-11 ("Seagroves Depo."). The State Department uses the TOMIS database system to catalog the full accreditation record of individuals present in the United States on behalf of a foreign mission, and
The Government states that in 1984, the TOMIS system was updated manually with information gleaned "exclusively through paper documents" issued by foreign embassies. ECF No. [41] at 4. The Government concedes that the only relevant, contemporary "paper document[ ]" in the record is a November 6, 1984 "Notification of Termination of Employment with a Foreign Government" ("Notification of Termination") issued by the Syrian Arab Republic, notifying the State Department that Petitioner's employment as secretary had terminated.
The Government has also submitted Sablaa's 1985 passport application, denied by the State Department with the handwritten note: "on Blue List 11/84 per protocol." See ECF No. [37-6]. Whomever made the handwritten note appears to have replaced the number "11" (November) with the number "12" (December) for the date Petitioner allegedly appeared "on Blue List." See id. The referenced Blue List is a diplomatic list maintained by the Department of State. The Government argues that the Blue List is not "conclusive evidence that a person listed enjoys diplomatic status." Motion at 14 (citing Trost v. Tompkins, 44 A.2d 226, 228-30 (Mun.Ct.App.D.C.1945) and United States v. Dizdar, 581 F.2d 1031, 1034-35 (2d Cir.1978)). Despite the State Department's stated rationale for denying Sablaa's passport application 31 years ago, the Government concedes that Petitioner did not actually appear on the Blue List until February 1985, after Sablaa's birth. See ECF No. [41] at 6; see also ECF No. [37-14]. As such, the Department of State's denial of Sablaa's passport application in 1985 constitutes circumstantial evidence of Petitioner's status at that time, evidence possibly premised on incorrect information.
The only primary and contemporary evidence produced by the Government in support of the information contained in the TOMIS database is the unidentified, hand-written note on the Notification of Termination. Petitioner disputes the accuracy of this notation, testifying that his position as secretary ended on November 6, 1984 (undisputed), and that he left for Syria on November 16, 1984 (also undisputed) for the purpose of applying for, training, and taking an exam to become an Attaché. See ECF Nos. [37-2] and [39-2] at 18, 19, 26-31, 78-79 ("Ali Depo."); see id. at 18:20-24 ("they told me I have to go ... I have to go to Syria first and get it approved from there and go through a short course over there that they use for diplomats before they hire them"), 26:14-18 ("if you pass it,
Petitioner has also produced a "letter" that he wrote and sent to the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Syrian Arab Republic." ECF No. [37-16]. The letter is stamped and was returned to Petitioner by an individual apparently affiliated with the Syrian Government: "Raghdan Khalil," "Director of the Consular Department." Id. In his letter Petitioner asks that the Ministry "check the official records kept ... to verify and attest to the work carried out by me during the 1980s in the Syrian Embassy in the United States of America." Id. Petitioner declares in his letter that he "did not work in any diplomatic position" at the Syrian Embassy until December 23, 1984, the date he "started [his] position as [A]ttaché." Id. Petitioner requests that the Ministry "check the official records kept by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ... attest that the information concerning my work at the Syrian Embassy in the USA as outlined above is completely true and accurate." Id. The bottom of the letter, returned to Petitioner, contains two stamps in the Arabic language. One stamp states "Syrian Arabic Republic — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates." Next to that stamp, in Arabic handwriting, is written: "[w]e attest to the validity of the information stated and represented in this application as submitted by Mr. Ali Ghiass." Id. Another stamp states, in pre-typed Arabic: "we attest to the authenticity of the signature without any responsibility as to the contents of this document." Id. That stamp is also from the "Syrian Arabic Republic — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates." Id.
The Government argues that Mr. Khalil's letter, Petitioner's testimony, the timing of his A-1 Visa grant, and his non-existence on the Blue List do not conclusively establish that he did not enjoy diplomatic immunity at the time of Sablaa's birth. See Motion at 14; ECF No. [41] at 6-8. While this may be true, Petitioner is not tasked with the burden of proving a negative until his hearing before this Court. On the Government's Motion for Summary Judgment, the Government has the burden to show that the trier of fact could not reasonably find for Petitioner based on the above-described evidence. See Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla., 516 F.3d at 1243; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505. This, the Government has not done. The Government has not produced formal evidence that serves as the basis for the TOMIS system determination. Petitioner has presented his own testimony, a document
Despite this material evidentiary dispute, the Government urges that the Court find the TOMIS system dispositive. In support, the Government cites to the Eleventh Circuit's holding in Abdulaziz v. Metro. Dade Cty. that "once the United States Department of State has regularly certified a visitor to this country as having diplomatic status, the courts are bound to accept that determination, and that the diplomatic immunity flowing from that status serves as a defense to suits." 741 F.2d 1328, 1329-30 (11th Cir.1984). However, unlike Abdulaziz and the other diplomatic immunity cases in the criminal, tort, and family-law context cited by the Government,
The most analogous case cited by the Government is Raya v. Clinton, a passport case, in which the district court noted that a "court may not review the State Department's factual determination as to whether an individual was entitled to diplomatic privileges and immunities on a particular date." 703 F.Supp.2d at 577. Raya, however, is not binding on this Court, and unlike the instant case, the record in Raya contained an uncontested Notification of Appointment of Foreign Diplomatic Officer
The Government urges the Court to ignore the record's evidentiary omissions, and infer that the Department of State must have received "formal notification of [Petitioner's] promotion before the Department of State would extend full diplomatic immunity," as "agency actions are entitled to a presumption of regularity." ECF No. [41] at 5. On summary judgment however, all reasonable inferences are made in favor of the non-moving party. Moreover, the presumption of regularity only exists "[a]bsent evidence to the contrary," Sierra Club v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 295 F.3d 1209, 1223 (11th Cir.2002). As out-lined above, contrary evidence exists in this case. The Government cannot avoid its evidentiary burden on summary judgment by asserting a burden-shifting presumption, the factual basis of which Petitioner contests. Lacking the very evidence the Government concedes the State Department needs to "reasonably interpret" the Vienna Convention, the Court finds the instant dispute distinguishable from Raya and the other cited authority.
The USCIS has now twice concluded that Sablaa is a USC by birth, and twice determined that she is not. Petitioner will now have an opportunity to establish which