212852P.pdf   08/05/2022  Hafils Akpovi  v.  David Douglas
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  21-2852
   U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska - Omaha   
   [PUBLISHED] [Shepherd, Author, with Colloton and Wollman, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - Immigration. Plaintiff appeals the denial of his Application 
   for Naturalization. The district court did not err in concluding 8 U.S.C. 
   Sec. 1429 does not limit its jurisdiction to review plaintiff's claim 
   under 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1421(c); this court joins its sister circuits in 
   holding that the pendency of removal proceedings, whether initiated before 
   or after the filing of a Sec. 1421(c) petition, prevents a district court 
   from directing the Attorney General to naturalize an alien due to the 
   limits imposed on the Attorney General's authority to consider 
   applications for naturalization under Sec. 1429; because Sec. 1429 
   precludes a district court from granting effective relief in this case, 
   plaintiff's Sec. 1421(c) petition is moot, and the district court did not 
   err in dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction; the district court 
   did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's Rule 59(e) motion to 
   alter or amend the judgment.