Mulder v. Department of Homeland Security

District of NevadaAndrew P. GordonDecided May 27, 2026No. 2:25-cv-01220

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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.

These are counts of past written decisions and dockets, not predictions of how any case will be decided. A distribution appears only when at least 5 decisions (or 5 dockets) are behind it; smaller groups are listed, not summarized. How it's counted.

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 Judge Couvillier found that Mulder should be able to obtain his naturalization records by submitting a Form N-565 to the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS).
Form or filing	N-565 Read by a model Judge Couvillier found that Mulder should be able to obtain his naturalization records by submitting a Form N-565 to the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS).
What the suit asked for	Some other action Read by a model seeking a writ of mandamus forcing the defendants to provide him copies of his naturalization documents.
Kind of order	A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model The portion of that order dismissing the petition is vacated.
Motion decided	None Read by a model
Whose motion	The plaintiff's motion Read by a model Mulder’s limited objection to Judge Couvillier’s order (ECF No. 9) is sustained.
Disposition	Granted in the applicant's favor The principal motion was granted in full: summary judgment for either side, an injunction or TRO, a writ or order to act, fees. A motion to dismiss granted in full counts as Dismissed; a transfer is listed apart. Read by a model I FUTHER ORDER that Mulder’s limited objection to Judge Couvillier’s order (ECF No. 9) is sustained. The portion of that order dismissing the petition is vacated.
Prevailing party	Applicant Read by a model I FUTHER ORDER that Mulder’s limited objection to Judge Couvillier’s order (ECF No. 9) is sustained. The portion of that order dismissing the petition is vacated.
The delay claim	The delay claim goes on Read by a model Thus, it appears Mulder has attempted to use the remedy Judge Couvillier points out, to no avail. As such, Mulder should be permitted to proceed with his petition at this stage.
Months pending	10.8 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model [o]n or about July/Aug. 2025, [he] mailed in a Form N-565
TRAC factors	The court did not weigh the TRAC factors Read by a model
Threshold rulings	None Read by a model
Nationality	United States Read by a model Ronald Mulder, a naturalized citizen of the United States

Other orders in this case

The group holds 2 decisions from this suit, oldest first. Outcome counts on these pages count the case once, by its latest decision, this one. How decisions are grouped into cases.

Decision	Decided	Judge	Disposition
Mulder v. Department of Homeland Security	December 18, 2025	Andrew P. Gordon	Dismissed
Mulder v. Department of Homeland SecurityThis decisionThe case's latest decision: its outcome is the one counted	May 27, 2026	Andrew P. Gordon	Granted in the applicant's favor

How the case ended

Docket: No. 2:25-cv-01220
Filed: July 7, 2025
Ended: December 18, 2025
Suit's filing to its end: 164 days
How it ended: Ended, outcome not recorded
From the record: terminated; no disposition recorded

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 3, 2026. Check the current status before relying on one.

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
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 2026-11-03; it checks for new citing decisions daily. That is not a determination that the case is good law. The citation index lists 144 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.