Sangster v. Rubio

District of NevadaAnne R. TraumDecided January 28, 2026No. 3:25-cv-00447

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2,996 written decisions from 2,731 cases in the whole mandamus and agency-delay group, the group's newest decided November 12, 2026. Updated November 14, 2026 at 1:17 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 1,617 public decisions since January 1, 2025 that a CourtListener and GovInfo search for mandamus and agency delay finds, Passim holds 1,406 (87%), 1,039 of them in this group, measured November 14, 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	Department of State Read by a model They bring this action to compel the Department of State to adjudicate Ms. Muangala’s application for an immigrant visa, and the application of her sister, B.M., who is also Mrs. Sangster’s adoptive child.
Form or filing	DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model On January 16, 2025, the two children’s Forms DS-260, Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application, were forwarded to the Embassy.
What the suit asked for	Some other action Read by a model The injunctive relief Plaintiffs seek is an order enjoining the Government from applying the policy to them and requiring the Government to adjudicate their applications.
Kind of order	A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model For the foregoing reasons, the Temporary Restraining Order against the Policy is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiffs’ request to stay the Policy only.
Motion decided	Preliminary injunction or TRO Read by a model Plaintiffs move on an emergency basis for a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”)
Whose motion	The plaintiff's motion Read by a model Plaintiffs move on an emergency basis for a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”)
Disposition	Granted in part The principal motion was granted in part and denied in part. Read by a model For the foregoing reasons, the Temporary Restraining Order against the Policy is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiffs’ request to stay the Policy only.
Prevailing party	Each side in part Read by a model For the foregoing reasons, the Temporary Restraining Order against the Policy is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiffs’ request to stay the Policy only.
The delay claim	Relief denied Read by a model Plaintiffs have not met their burden to show that the harm they would suffer in the absence of an order compelling adjudication would constitute a basis for further injunctive relief.
The other claims	Relief ordered Read by a model The Court ORDERS that the Secretary of State, directly and through his designees, is enjoined from refusing the applications of Ms. Muangala and B.M where such refusal is based on the Secretary’s memo of January 14, 2026.
Months pending	12.4 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model On January 16, 2025, the two children’s Forms DS-260, Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application, were forwarded to the Embassy.
TRAC factors	The court did not weigh the TRAC factors Read by a model
Threshold rulings	None Read by a model
Nationality	Congo Read by a model nationals from the DRC. (ECF No. 8-11.) Plaintiffs allege that this policy applies to Ms. Muangala and B.M., and that it “threatens to keep the family separated indefinitely.”

How the case ended

Docket: No. 3:25-cv-00447
Filed: August 22, 2025
Ended: April 29, 2026
Suit's filing to its end: 250 days
How it ended: Ended once the agency acted
From the record: voluntary dismissal 2026-04-29; idb disp 12 (dismissed: voluntarily)

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 Ninth 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 14, 2026. Check the current status before relying on one.

Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667

Supreme Court, June 26, 2018. Mandel's facially-legitimate-and-bona-fide standard governs constitutional challenges to entry restrictions, and a citation to a valid statutory ground ordinarily satisfies it.

ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
Department of State v. Muñoz, 602 U.S. 899

Supreme Court, June 21, 2024. A U.S. citizen has no fundamental liberty interest in a noncitizen spouse's admission, so marriage alone entitles the citizen neither to Mandel review of the consular refusal nor to an explanation beyond the statutory citation.

ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
Kleindienst v. Mandel, 408 U.S. 753

Supreme Court, June 29, 1972. When a visa refusal burdens a U.S. citizen's own constitutional rights, courts ask only whether the Executive gave a facially legitimate and bona fide reason and do not look behind it.

ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, 542 U.S. 55

Supreme Court, June 14, 2004. Section 706(1) and mandamus reach only a discrete agency action that the agency is legally required to take, so a court cannot compel programmatic improvements or action the law leaves to agency discretion.

ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
Allen v. Milas, 896 F.3d 1094

Ninth Circuit, July 24, 2018. The APA provides no avenue for review of a consular visa refusal beyond Mandel's facially-legitimate-and-bona-fide inquiry, and consular nonreviewability is not a jurisdictional bar.

ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance. ImmCite has read all 8 published decisions citing this case, as of 2026-11-13; none treats it adversely. That describes those decisions; it is not a determination that the case is good law.
Sanchez Gonzalez v. United States Department of State, No. 23-4205 (9th Cir. Apr. 30, 2026)

Ninth Circuit, April 30, 2026. After Muñoz, a citizen spouse's own First Amendment interest triggered Mandel review, which a facially legitimate and bona fide reason satisfied absent a showing of bad faith.

ImmCite: unchecked, treatment not confirmed yet, not evidence either way. ImmCite has found no published decision citing this case as of 2026-10-18; it checks for new citing decisions daily. That is not a determination that the case is good law.
Independence Mining Co. v. Babbitt, 105 F.3d 502

Ninth Circuit, January 23, 1997. Mandamus and APA § 706(1) claims to compel delayed agency action are analyzed alike under the TRAC factors.

ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
Vaz v. Neal, 33 F.4th 1131

Ninth Circuit, May 9, 2022. Section 706(1) compels only a clear, mandatory and discrete duty that has been unreasonably delayed under TRAC, and the APA's prerequisites go to the merits while § 1331 supplies jurisdiction.

ImmCite: unchecked, treatment not confirmed yet, not evidence either way. ImmCite has found no published decision citing this case as of 2026-11-10; it checks for new citing decisions daily. That is not a determination that the case is good law. The citation index lists 145 other decisions citing it, none a Supreme Court, BIA or Attorney General precedent or a published circuit opinion; ImmCite's status does not review them.