Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

Tavakoli Joorabi v. Pompeo

District of ColumbiaRoyce C. LamberthDecided May 17, 2020No. 1:20-cv-00108

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

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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
On the same day, the Embassy confirmed receipt of the questionnaires, and the case has been under administrative processing since then.
Form or filing 221(g) (consular refusal); DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model
Mr. Tavakoli paid the invoice fee and completed the DS-260 immigration visa application online on August 9, 2018 for himself and his two children, Fatemeh and Mohammad Tavakoli.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
Based on the foregoing, the Court will GRANT defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 5). It will be ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED with prejudice.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(1) and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6).
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(1) and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6).
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
It will be ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED with prejudice.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Based on the foregoing, the Court will GRANT defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 5).
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
plaintiffs have still failed to state a legally cognizable claim in regards to the waiver requests under the APA or any other statute, meaning that the entire case must be dismissed.
The other claims Dismissed Read by a model
the doctrine of consular nonreviewability prevents this Court from reviewing the government’s denial of the Tavakolis’ underlying visa applications.
Months pending 12.8 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
On December 21, 2018, Mr. Tavakoli requested a waiver under the Proclamation for himself and his children.
TRAC factors The court weighed the TRAC factors
  • 1. Rule of reasonfavors the government
  • 2. Congressional timetablefavors the government
  • 3. Human health and welfarenot reached
  • 4. Competing prioritiesfavors the government
  • 5. Interests prejudicednot reached
  • 6. No impropriety needednot reached
Read by a model
There is no statute requiring the government to adjudicate waiver requests in a certain order or within a certain amount of time, and thus no “rule of reason” has been violated.
The government's delay arguments Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
nor is it the Court’s place to tell the agency how to prioritize its thousands of pending applications.
Threshold rulings Consular nonreviewability applied; Consular nonreviewability rejected; Held moot; Mootness argument rejected Read by a model
The Court finds that the doctrines of consular nonreviewability and mootness clearly bar review of the underlying visa applications
Nationality Iran Read by a model
Mr. Tavakoli, an Iranian citizen, received an offer of employment in 2016 to repair Persian rugs at Carpet & Floors Market, Inc. in Waldorf, Maryland.
212(f) proclamation Proclamation 9645 Read by a model
Pursuant to Section 1182(f), the President signed Presidential Proclamation 9645 (“Proclamation”).

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:20-cv-00108
Filed
January 15, 2020
Ended
May 17, 2020
Suit's filing to its end
123 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.