Opinion
Civil Action No. 1:10-cv-01979-JLK.
April 14, 2011
ORDER
This matter is currently before me on Plaintiff's Motions for Leave to Amend Complaint by Adding Mehdi Ballouchy as a Plaintiff-Petitioner (doc. 33 and 35). Plaintiff-Petitioner seeks to add her husband, Mehdi Ballouchy, as a Plaintiff-Petitioner in this action. Mr. Ballouchy is the beneficiary of the visa petition filed by Ms. Yovell on August 15, 2002 — the same visa petition which is the subject of the instant challenge.
Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 21, I "may at any time, on just terms, add or drop a party." As the Tenth Circuit has held, "The grant or denial of a motion to bring in or drop a party lies in the discretion of the judge. . . . The trial court's exercise of discretion will not be disturbed on appeal unless an abuse of discretion is shown." K-B Trucking Co. v. Riss Int'l Corp., 763 F.2d 1148, 1153 (10th Cir. 1985).
Section 10 of the APA, 5 U.S.C. § 702, gives any person "suffering legal wrong because of agency action, or adversely affected or aggrieved by agency action within the meaning of a relevant statute" the right to seek federal court review of the agency action. Having carefully considered the matter, I am of the opinion that Mr. Ballouchy has standing to bring this action because he is within the zone of interest regulated or protected by the immediate relative classification statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1154(a)(1)(A)(i), and thus is adversely affected within the meaning of the relevant statute for purposes of 5 U.S.C. § 702. See Taneja v. Smith, 795 F.2d 355, 358 n. 7 (4th Cir. 1986); Stenographic Machines, Inc. v. Regional Administrator for Employment and Training, 577 F.2d 521, 527-28 (7th Cir. 1978); Sanchez-Trujillo v. INS, 620 F. Supp. 1361, 1363 (W.D.N.C. 1985) (noting that "the immigrant beneficiary is more than just a mere onlooker; it is [his] own status that is at stake when the agency takes action on a preference classification petition").
Accordingly, I think it proper to allow the addition of Mr. Ballouchy as a Plaintiff-Petitioner in this case. Accordingly, Plaintiff-Petitioner's motion is GRANTED. Plaintiff-Petitioner's complaint shall be amended to add Mehdi Ballouchy as another Plaintiff-Petitioner.