Amado De Lara Bellajaro v. Thomas J. Schiltgen, District Director of the Ins, Los Angeles District Office Immigration and Naturalization Service

This appeal requires us to decide whether a district court has jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1421 (c) to review the denial of an application for naturalization when a removal proceeding is pending.

Amado De Lara Bellajaro appeals the district court’s judgment that it lacked jurisdiction under § 1421(c) to hear his petition for review of an application for naturalization that was filed while he was in removal proceedings and was denied by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on the basis of 8 U.S.C. § 1429 , which prohibits the Attorney General from considering a naturalization application if a removal proceeding is pending. Bellajaro asked the district court to grant his application for naturalization on the merits, or alternatively, to declare that he is eligible to naturalize but for the pendency of removal proceedings. In the district court’s view, § 1429 reflects Congressional intent that removal have priority over naturalization, and this intent would be frustrated if judicial review of naturalization decisions were available under § 1421(c) while the removal proceeding is pending.

We agree that Bellajaro’s petition must be dismissed, but for a different…