Khan v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

Filing 17

ORDER Granting 1 Petition to Amend Certificate of Naturalization. Signed by Judge Gloria M. Navarro on 6/23/11. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF; CC: John Kramer - ASB)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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KHALID HASAN KHAN,
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Petitioner,
vs.

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UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND
IMMIGRATION SERVICES,

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Respondent.

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Case No.: 2:11-cv-00811-GMN-GWF
ORDER

Pending before the Court is Petitioner Khan’s Petition to Amend Certificate of

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Naturalization (ECF No. 1), in which Petitioner asks the Court to amend his Certificate of

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Naturalization to reflect his correct year of birth. Having been properly served and notified of

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this Petition, the United States has filed a Notice of Non-Opposition to the Petition (ECF No.

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15). The Court hereby GRANTS the Petition. Petitioner’s Certificate of Naturalization

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shall be amended to reflect his accurate birth year: 1938.

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Petitioner’s request is governed by Title 8, Section 334.16(b) of the Code of Federal

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Regulations, which allows a petition for naturalization to be amended by a federal court,

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though it requires the Petitioner to serve a copy of the petition “upon the district director

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having administrative jurisdiction over the territory in which the court is located.” Petitioner

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has done so here. (See Certificate of Service, ECF No. 10.) Although 8 C.F.R. § 334.16(b)

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specifically gives federal courts the power to order amendments to petitions for naturalization,

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courts also use this regulation to make amendments to certificates of naturalization. See, e.g.,

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Kouanchao v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, 358 F. Supp. 2d 837, 840

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(D. Minn. 2005).

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A party seeking to amend their date of birth on a Certificate of Naturalization bears the

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burden of establishing that the date on the Certificate is incorrect and the proffered date is

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correct. See Kouanchao, 358 F. Supp. 2d at 838. Petitioner has done so here.

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Petitioner’s Certificate of Naturalization currently indicates that he was born in 1941;

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however, he has produced several certified documents that reveal that he was actually born in

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1938. Specifically, he has produced a birth certificate from the state of Uttar Pradesh, India

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that is signed and stamped by the Registrar of Birth & Death and indicates that Petitioner was

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born on December 4, 1938. (See Ex. D, Sealed Petition, ECF No. 12). The date set forth in his

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birth certificate is supported by the records of the college that Petitioner attended (see Ex. B,

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Sealed Petition, ECF No. 12), the records of the high school he attended (see Ex. A, Sealed

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Petition, ECF No. 12), and an additional notarized form from the state of Uttar Pradesh based

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on the state’s “original records” (see Ex. F, Sealed Petition, ECF No. 12), all of which indicate

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that Petitioner was born on December 4, 1938.

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The erroneous 1941 date appears to stem from Petitioner’s migration from India to

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Pakistan in 1961. (Petition ¶ 7, ECF No. 1.) In 1971, he was issued a passport by the Pakistani

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government that contained the same month and date of birth as the information on record in

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Uttar Pradesh and Petitioner’s schools but incorrectly listed 1941 as the year of Petitioner’s

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birth. (Id.) In the same year that he received this flawed passport, Petitioner permanently

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moved to the United States, and it appears that that document was the basis for the birth year

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that was ultimately listed on Petitioner’s Certificate of Naturalization in 1985. (Petition ¶ 8,

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ECF No. 1.)

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In light of the information presented by Petitioner, the Government’s Non-Opposition,

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and the fact that no allegations of fraud have been made, the Court finds that Petitioner has met

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his burden and the requested relief may be granted. See Moissiu v. United States Citizenship

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and Immigration Services, No. 2:10-cv-00218-KJD-LRL, 2011 WL 32490, at *1 (D. Nev. Jan.

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05, 2011) (granting petition to amend Certificate of Naturalization where petitioner produced

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evidence of her correct birth date, the Government filed a Notice of Non-Opposition, and no

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allegations of fraud were made).

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CONCLUSION
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioner Khan’s Petition to Amend Certificate of

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Naturalization (ECF No. 1) is GRANTED. Petitioner’s Certificate of Naturalization shall

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be amended to reflect his accurate birth year: 1938.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this

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order on John Kramer, the USCIS Director having administrative jurisdiction over Nevada, at

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2035 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004-1548. That copy shall be included in the

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Service file, as set forth in 8 CFR § 334.16(b).
DATED this 23rd day of June, 2011.

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________________________________
Gloria M. Navarro
United States District Judge

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