Mathin v. Kerry

Dist. Ct. did not err in denying plaintiff-alien’s request for relief in action under 8 USC section 1503(a) and 28 USC section 2201(a) seeking declaration that he is U.S. national for purposes of obtaining U.S. passport. While plaintiff claimed that he was born in Chicago when his Indian-citizen parents were visiting in 1965, Dist. Ct. could properly find that plaintiff had failed in his burden to prove that he was born in Chicago, where: (1) there were no contemporaneous records supporting fact of plaintiff‘s birth; (2) hospital records did not support plaintiff’s claim that he was taken to Chicago hospital shortly after his birth; (3) record contained evidence that affidavits submitted by plaintiff that were purportedly generated by plaintiff’s parents in 1996 were either false or fraudulent; and (4) credibility issues surrounded other documents including delayed birth certificate issued by State of Illinois and plaintiff’s marriage certificate. Also, plaintiff could not attempt to have Ct. of Appeals essentially re-weigh facts that had already been presented to Dist. Ct.