Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

Christian v. Mullin

District of ColumbiaRandolph D. MossDecided August 21, 2026No. 1:26-cv-01428

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

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.

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
The USCIS never considered whether Christian could prevail under a less demanding standard of proof, such as the preponderance standard.
Form or filing I-130 (relative petition) Read by a model
Christian married his wife, a foreign national, in 2008, and has filed four separate I-130 petitions on her behalf “[o]ver the span of fifteen years.”
What the suit asked for Not recorded Read by a model
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
The Court will, accordingly, deny Defendants’ motion to dismiss, Dkt. 17.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; Summary judgment Read by a model
For the reasons explained below, the Court will GRANT Plaintiff’s motions to expedite, will DENY Defendants’ motion to dismiss, and will DENY Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment without prejudice to permit Plaintiff to re-brief the dispositive issues in light of the Court’s opinion.
Whose motion Cross-motions Read by a model
Pending before the Court are Plaintiff’s motions to expedite consideration of his case, Dkts. 3 & 15, Defendants’ motion to dismiss, Dkt. 17, and Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, Dkt. 4.
Disposition Government's motion denied; the case goes on The government's motion (to dismiss, or for summary judgment) was denied, so the case goes on. Counted as the applicant's ruling; a later decision in the case can still go either way. Read by a model
The Court will, accordingly, deny Defendants’ motion to dismiss, Dkt. 17.
Prevailing party Applicant Read by a model
The Court will, accordingly, deny Defendants’ motion to dismiss, Dkt. 17.
The other claims The delay claim goes on Read by a model
The Court will, accordingly, deny Defendants’ motion to dismiss, Dkt. 17.
Months pending Not stated Read by a model
TRAC factors The court did not weigh the TRAC factors Read by a model
Threshold rulings Section 1252(a)(2)(B) bar rejected; Mootness argument rejected Read by a model
As in Castaneira, the Court leaves the question whether Matter of Chawathe is controlling in the present circumstance for the merits and, instead, merely rejects Defendants’ contention that the Court lacks jurisdiction to consider that question.
I-130 category Immediate relative Read by a model
his I-130 petition requesting that the Attorney General recognize his wife, who is a foreign national, as an “immediate relative”

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.

DecisionDecidedJudgeDisposition
CHRISTIAN v. MULLIN August 21, 2026 Randolph D. Moss Government's motion denied; the case goes on
Christian v. MullinThis decisionThe case's latest decision: its outcome is the one counted August 21, 2026 Randolph D. Moss Government's motion denied; the case goes on

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:26-cv-01428
Filed
April 24, 2026
Status
Pending as of the last docket check

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