Passim

Mandamus decisions / Eastern District of New York

Al Saidi v. U.S. Embassy in Djibouti

Eastern District of New YorkBrian Mark CoganDecided June 18, 2021No. 1:21-cv-03393

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

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What the decision decided

Each value cites the passage it was read from. Values read by a model were checked against that passage; values read by rule come from fixed text patterns. Read the decision before relying on either.

Agency USCIS Read by a model
Because the applications were not clearly approvable, they needed to be adjudicated by USCIS in America.
Form or filing I-130 (relative petition) Read by a model
This case is before me on plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order directing defendants to adjudicate their Form I-130 petitions by June 23, 2021.
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
This case is before me on plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order directing defendants to adjudicate their Form I-130 petitions by June 23, 2021.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
I denied the motion on the record, noting that a written opinion would follow. This is that opinion.
Motion decided Preliminary injunction or TRO Read by a model
This case is before me on plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order directing defendants to adjudicate their Form I-130 petitions by June 23, 2021.
Whose motion The plaintiff's motion Read by a model
This case is before me on plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order directing defendants to adjudicate their Form I-130 petitions by June 23, 2021.
Disposition Denied in the government's favor The principal motion was denied in full: a motion to dismiss denied so the case goes on, or relief denied on the merits. Read by a model
I denied the motion on the record, noting that a written opinion would follow.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
I denied the motion on the record, noting that a written opinion would follow.
The delay claim Relief denied Read by a model
I denied the motion on the record, noting that a written opinion would follow.
The other claims Relief denied Read by a model
For similar reasons, plaintiffs’ claims for denial of rights of U.S. Nationals and under the Equal Justice Act do not have a likelihood of success because there is no clear right to the relief plaintiffs seek.
Months pending 1.4 months from the application to the suit; 1.5 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
plaintiffs requested the appointment be rescheduled for May 2, which was accommodated; and plaintiffs then traveled to Djibouti for the appointment. At the appointment, plaintiff-petitioner submitted the I-130 packages and paid the associated fee.
TRAC factors The court weighed the TRAC factors
  • 1. Rule of reasonfavors the government
  • 2. Congressional timetablenot reached
  • 3. Human health and welfarenot reached
  • 4. Competing prioritiesfavors the government
  • 5. Interests prejudicednot reached
  • 6. No impropriety needednot reached
Read by a model
There is nothing in the record or common experience to suggest that these petitions must be processed within days or weeks, even in exceptional circumstances.
The government's delay arguments Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
The competing priority factor weighs strongly against relief that would permit plaintiffs to circumvent the line and receive final decisions on their applications sooner than other Form I- 130 applications, simply because plaintiffs did not earlier pursue derivative citizenship.
Threshold rulings Consular nonreviewability applied Read by a model
To the extent plaintiffs are challenging the determination made at the consulate that the petitions were not clearly approvable and would need to be sent to USCIS, that argument is likely to fail under the doctrine of consular non-reviewability.
I-130 category Immediate relative Read by a model
Plaintiffs are a United States citizen (Al Saidi or plaintiff-petitioner) and his two minor children (B.M.K.A. and S.M.K.A., or plaintiff-beneficiaries)

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:21-cv-03393
Filed
June 15, 2021
Ended
September 1, 2021
Suit's filing to its end
78 days
How it ended
Dismissed on jurisdiction or the merits
From the record
idb disp 17 (judgment: other), judgment for defendant

A voluntary or stipulated dismissal is how most suits end once the agency acts; the docket rarely says why.

Supreme Court and Second Circuit authority

District decisions bind no one. On the questions this decision raises, the Supreme Court decisions and the circuit's published decisions listed here bind this court; a circuit disposition marked nonprecedential was not published as precedent and is persuasive only. ImmCite status as read November 3, 2026. Check the current status before relying on one.