Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

VAFAEI v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION SERVICES (USCIS)

District of ColumbiaColleen Kollar-KotellyDecided March 21, 2024No. 1:22-cv-01608

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

2,914 written decisions from 2,661 cases in the whole mandamus and agency-delay group, the group's newest decided October 30, 2026. Updated November 3, 2026 at 1:24 a.m. CT; the Passim connector counts the live collection, which can differ by the day's additions and retirements (which total to quote). Coverage: of the 1,606 public decisions since January 1, 2025 that a CourtListener and GovInfo search for mandamus and agency delay finds, Passim holds 1,371 (85%), measured November 3, 2026. Some of what that search finds are not mandamus decisions. Tell us about a decision we're missing.

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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
Since November 2019, Plaintiff’s petition has been awaiting adjudication with USCIS.
Form or filing I-526 (investor petition) Read by a model
Shortly thereafter, on November 20, 2019, Plaintiff filed a I-526 petition with USCIS.
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
In his Complaint, Plaintiff requests that the Court enter an order compelling Defendants to “adjudicate [his] I-526 petition without further delay.”
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
For the foregoing reasons, the Court shall GRANT Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss and DISMISS the [1] Complaint for Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
Pending before the Court is Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (“Rule 12(b)(6)”).
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Pending before the Court is Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (“Rule 12(b)(6)”).
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
Court shall GRANT Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss and DISMISS Plaintiff’s [1] Complaint for Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Court shall GRANT Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss and DISMISS Plaintiff’s [1] Complaint for Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
For the foregoing reasons, the Court shall GRANT Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss and DISMISS the [1] Complaint for Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment.
Months pending 30.6 months from the application to the suit; 52 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
Shortly thereafter, on November 20, 2019, Plaintiff filed a I-526 petition with USCIS.
TRAC factors The court weighed the TRAC factors
  • 1. Rule of reasonfavors the government
  • 2. Congressional timetablefavors the applicant
  • 3. Human health and welfarefavors the government
  • 4. Competing prioritiesfavors the government
  • 5. Interests prejudicedfavors the government
  • 6. No impropriety neededneutral
Read by a model
In sum, the Court finds that the first TRAC factor weighs in favor of Defendants, and the second TRAC factor only weighs slightly in Plaintiff’s favor.
The government's delay arguments First-in, first-out processing accepted; Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
Like other district courts in this jurisdiction, the Court concludes that USCIS’s “visa availability approach” adheres to an “identifiable rationale.”
Threshold rulings None Read by a model
Nationality Germany Read by a model
Plaintiff Baktash Vafaei is a citizen and resident of Germany.

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:22-cv-01608
Filed
June 7, 2022
Ended
March 21, 2024
Suit's filing to its end
653 days
How it ended
Dismissed, ground not recorded
From the record
idb disp 14 (dismissed: other)

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.