Schulze v. USCIS, No. 24-01933, 2025 WL 2531508 (D. Nev. Sept. 2, 2025) (Dorsey, J.)

Schulze v. USCIS, No. 24-01933, 2025 WL 2531508 (D. Nev. Sept. 2, 2025) (Dorsey, J.)

Re: Records concerning plaintiff’s mother

Disposition:  Dismissing plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend his petition for mandamus

• Litigation Considerations, Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies:  The court finds that “[plaintiff’s] claim is futile [because] he has skipped the required administrative process.”  “Generally, a party seeking records must first submit a FOIA request to the agency and appeal any adverse determination from the agency to the head of the agency.”  “[Plaintiff] has not alleged or shown that he submitted any FOIA requests in the past 15 years or that he has exhausted his administrative remedies for his mother’s records.”  “Until [plaintiff] does so, any claim related to those records is premature.”  “So, to the extent [plaintiff] attempts to refashion his case into one for FOIA relief, leave to amend is not available.”