CHIEF Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI has dismissed without prejudice the lawsuit of Denis Uvarov against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Without prejudice” means the lawsuit can be filed again.
Uvarov, who said he is homeless, is alleging personal injury and demanded $80,000 in damages.
Judge Manglona also denied his application to proceed without paying fees and costs in filing the lawsuit.
She noted that Uvarov’s complaint seeks the same relief as that from his claim filed four months earlier — namely, the return of his passport and compensatory and punitive damages.
Uvarov, a Russian national who arrived in the CNMI in November 2017, said when he sought asylum, ICE confiscated his passport in June 2018.
After waiting for two years for an asylum interview, he said he has changed his mind.
On July 10, 2020, he demanded that his passport be returned so that he may return home.
Representing himself, he filed a complaint on Aug. 14, 2020, but the court dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction on Oct. 26, 2020.
On Dec. 2, 2020, Uvarov filed an amended complaint, this time providing copies of his formal request for the return of original documents filed on July 9, 2020 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
He filed the amended complaint the same day he received an email response from USCIS Los Angeles Asylum Office, which informed him that “we are unable to schedule non-detained interviews in Saipan at this time…. When we are able to resume interviews you will be contacted and scheduled for an interview.”
Citing previous rulings, Judge Manglona said Uvarov’s claims for monetary relief is not permitted under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
As for his request for the return of his passport, the judge reiterated her previous ruling, which stated that the Administrative Procedure Act limits the court’s jurisdiction to review agency actions to those that are reviewable by statute or to those that are final.
In her previous ruling dismissing the initial complaint, Judge Manglona stated that Uvarov failed to demonstrate any evidence of a final agency decision because the USCIS Los Angeles Asylum Office was still processing his request.
“Because plaintiff has not yet exhausted his administrative remedies, his complaint is premature,” the judge added.
She also admonished ICE and the Los Angeles Asylum Office, saying that the interview should not be unduly delayed and should be conducted virtually if needed to expedite Uvarov’s request.
“Especially when he is no longer seeking refuge in this country, merely wants to return home but cannot without a passport, and suffers day to day plight in no small part due to his status,” the judge said.
“Agencies may not continually place plaintiff in a holding pattern, effectively denying him any final determination and preventing this court from obtaining jurisdiction to review any decision,” the judge added.
