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Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

ODUOR v. BLINKEN

District of ColumbiaDabney Langhorne FriedrichDecided March 29, 2024No. 1:23-cv-00908

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What the decision decided

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Agency Department of State Read by a model
Oduor, Ebuu, and Ikapel filed this action on April 4, 2023 seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to compel the State Department to adjudicate Ebuu and Ikapel’s cases under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706, and the Mandamus Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1361.
Form or filing DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model
Specifically, on June 23, 2020, the plaintiffs submitted an online immigrant visa application form (DS-260) with supporting documents for Ebuu, and on September 16, 2022, the plaintiffs submitted the same for Ikapel.
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
to compel the adjudication of Ebuu’s and Ikapel’s visa applications.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
The plaintiffs’ APA and Mandamus Act claims fail under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6).
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Secretary Blinken moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint for failure to state a claim and lack of jurisdiction under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant Secretary Blinken’s motion and dismiss the petition.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.
Months pending 6.6 months from the application to the suit The agency acted before this decision, so the months up to the decision are not a delay and are not shown. Read by a model
Specifically, on June 23, 2020, the plaintiffs submitted an online immigrant visa application form (DS-260) with supporting documents for Ebuu, and on September 16, 2022, the plaintiffs submitted the same for Ikapel.
TRAC factors The court weighed the TRAC factors
  • 1. Rule of reasonfavors the government
  • 2. Congressional timetablefavors the government
  • 3. Human health and welfarefavors the applicant
  • 4. Competing prioritiesfavors the government
  • 5. Interests prejudicedfavors the applicant
  • 6. No impropriety neededneutral
Read by a model
Both of these factors favor Secretary Blinken.
The government's delay arguments First-in, first-out processing accepted; Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
“[T]his first-in, first-out method of adjudication satisfies the rule-of-reason inquiry.”
Threshold rulings Held moot Read by a model
Thus, to the extent the complaint seeks relief for Ebuu, those claims are moot.
Nationality Kenya Read by a model
his sons, Christopher Isaac Ebuu and Joel Nelson Ikapel, both Kenyan nationals

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:23-cv-00908
Filed
April 4, 2023
Ended
March 29, 2024
Suit's filing to its end
360 days
How it ended
Dismissed on jurisdiction or the merits
From the record
idb disp 6 (judgment: motion before trial), judgment for defendant

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

Supreme Court and D.C. 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.