Opinion
24-cv-0553-AGS-AHG
04-08-2024
Ali L. MOHAMMADI, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP SERVICES, et al., Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING JOINT MOTION TO TRANSFER CIVIL ACTION (ECF 4)
Hon. Andrew G. Schopler United States District Judge
The parties jointly move to transfer venue. Their motion is granted.
A “civil action may be brought in-(1) a judicial district in which any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located; [or] (2) a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred, or a substantial part of property that is the subject of the action is situated[.]” 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b); Costlow v. Weeks, 790 F.2d 1486, 1488 (9th Cir. 1986). If a case “falls within” these categories, then “venue is proper; if it does not, venue is improper, and the case must be dismissed or transferred.” Atlantic Marine Const. Co. v. United States Dist. Ct. for W. Dist. of Texas, 571 U.S. 49, 56 (2013).
“Plaintiff resides in the Central District of California, no defendant resides in this judicial district,” and the action concerns a petition being handled at a federal-agency service center in Maryland. (See ECF 4, at 1.) Thus, the joint motion is GRANTED. The Clerk is directed to TRANSFER this civil action for lack of proper venue, in the interests of justice, and for the convenience of the parties, to the United States District Court for the Central District of California.