## Facts

- Dr. Jorge L. Holguín Soto, born in Texas in 1955, was a U.S. citizen at birth.
- While studying in Mexico in the late 1970s, he sought Mexican nationality benefits and, in 1978, applied for a Certificate of Mexican Nationality and swore allegiance to Mexico.
- He appeared at a U.S. consulate in Mexico and signed paperwork the State Department treated as a formal renunciation of U.S. citizenship.
- On March 23, 1982, the State Department approved a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) reflecting a determination that he voluntarily relinquished U.S. nationality.
- Holguín Soto later alleged he did not intend to relinquish U.S. citizenship, was told the process would not affect his citizenship, and was not notified of the CLN.
- In 2007, he applied for a U.S. passport; the State Department denied the application based on the 1982 CLN, and an internal review upheld the denial.
- In 2008, he sued the Secretary of State seeking a declaration that he remained a U.S. citizen and an injunction ordering recognition of citizenship and issuance of a passport.

## Issues

1. Whether the action challenging the loss-of-nationality determination and the passport denial was barred by the applicable federal statute of limitations.
2. Whether the complaint stated a plausible claim for declaratory and injunctive relief under the statutory scheme governing nationality and passport determinations.

## Decision

- The court granted the Secretary of State’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion and dismissed the complaint.
- The court held the suit was time-barred under the applicable federal limitations period for civil actions against the United States.
- The court further concluded the complaint did not plausibly state a timely, legally cognizable basis for relief.

## Legal Principles

- A civil action seeking judicial review of federal agency action is subject to a limitations period that generally accrues when the plaintiff knew or should have known of the challenged injury or determination.
- Under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must allege facts that make entitlement to relief plausible on its face; conclusory assertions or allegations that do not overcome an obvious time bar do not suffice.
- Loss-of-nationality determinations may be recorded through a CLN, and delayed challenges to such determinations can be foreclosed by limitations rules even when the plaintiff disputes intent or alleges misinformation.
- The statutory scheme governing nationality claims and expatriating acts provides the framework for relief, but courts may dismiss at the pleading stage where the claim is untimely and cannot proceed to merits review.

## Conclusion

The court dismissed Holguín Soto’s effort to obtain a declaration of U.S. citizenship and a passport because the challenge to the decades-old loss-of-nationality determination was untimely and the pleadings did not plausibly establish a viable, timely cause of action.


Holguín Soto v. Rodham-Clinton, 609 F. Supp. 2d 207 (D.P.R. 2009)