Islam

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION

I. INTRODUCTION

In this action brought under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA,”) plaintiff Mohammad Sher Islam challenges a decision of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to deny his application for adjustment of citizenship status from asylee to lawful permanent resident. The central dispute between the parties is whether collateral estoppel applies to the issue of Islam’s involvement in terrorist activities. An Immigration Judge’s (“IJ’s”) decision to grant an application.for asylum necessarily includes a determination that the applicant was not involved in terrorist activity prior to the proceeding. Therefore, if collateral estoppel does apply, the IJ’s decision to grant Islam’s application for asylum would preclude the USCIS from denying his application for adjustment of status based on terrorist activity that occurred before the asylum application was granted. Because no exceptions to the doctrine of collateral estoppel apply here, the USCIS’s decision to deny Islam’s application for adjustment of státus- Was arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law. Plaintiffs…