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Summary of article:
Liu Mengju, a Taiwanese resident of Ohio, had his naturalization application delayed for more than 18 months and received no interview or decision. He then sued the Trump administration and asked the court to order USCIS to complete the background check and naturalization process within a deadline.
Meng Ju Liu (transliteration), a Taiwanese-American legal permanent resident living in Ohio, feels that her naturalization application is like “a stone in the sand.” on the 15th he willtrump The government went to court to force federal officials to complete the process of his naturalization application. Liu Mengju said the naturalization application documents he filed in April last year were “collecting dust on the shelf in his office.” If the federal court does not intervene, he “may have to wait forever.”
According to Liu Mengju’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, he receivedgreen card Became a legal permanent resident of the United States and submitted an N-400 naturalization application on April 25 last year; American citizens andmigrant A receipt from USCIS confirmed that the agency had received her application the same day; However, there has been no progress on his application in the past 18 months, and he has not yet received a naturalization interview notice.
The complaint points out that according to data released by USCIS, 80% of N-400 naturalization applications in the Cincinnati, Ohio area can typically be processed within 9.5 months. Liu Mengju claimed that federal officials failed to complete processing within a reasonable time after her application and did not explain the reason for the delay.
Liu Mengju acknowledged that the government is required to review the criminal records and national security backgrounds of naturalization applicants, but he objected to the time this process takes, arguing that such long delays violate the federal government’s obligation to process their applications within a reasonable time.
Liu Mengju asked a federal judge to order the government to complete her naturalization process, saying she has exhausted all other available avenues for relief. He asked the court to order federal officials to complete his criminal record and background security review within 30 days; If the review passes, he or she must go through naturalization procedures within 30 days. He also expected the defendants to bear the costs of the lawsuit and related expenses.
USCIS informed Liu Mengju in May 2025 that he could reuse previously collected fingerprints and other biometric data, so he did not need to go to the designated location again to collect biometric data. The government also did not ask him to provide any further information.
Newsweek reported that the lawsuit raises the question: How long does it take before federal authorities deem a naturalization application “legally unreasonable” to delay processing? According to federal law, if a decision on the naturalization application has not been made more than 120 days after the applicant’s naturalization examination has been completed, the applicant may seek specific legal relief and request a federal district court to intervene.
Summary FAQ
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Because there had been no progress 18 months after applying for naturalization in April last year, and he had received neither an interview notice nor a hearing result, he believed the government’s delay was unreasonable, so he requested the court to intervene.
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Liu Mengju obtained a green card in 2002 and submitted an N-400 naturalization application on April 25 last year. No follow-up progress has been made since receipt of the USCIS notification. In May 2025, it was only notified that existing fingerprint information could be used, and no interviews were arranged.
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The news reported that according to federal law, if the applicant has not received a decision more than 120 days after completing the naturalization examination, he can seek specific legal relief, and the federal district court will intervene and require the competent authority to complete the examination within a reasonable period.
