Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

GONA v. UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES

District of ColumbiaRoyce C. LamberthDecided February 25, 2021No. 1:20-cv-03680

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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
USCIS has not yet acted on those applications.
Form or filing I-539 (change or extension of stay); I-765 (EAD) Read by a model
See id. (Form I-765 to extend work authorization); 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(9)(iv) (Form I-539 to extend visa).
What the suit asked for Issue a work permit Read by a model
She alleges that the agency unreasonably delayed acting on her applications and improperly denied an automatic extension of her authorization to work. She now seeks a preliminary injunction to force the agency to process her applications within seven days.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
Upon consideration of the motion, briefs (ECF Nos. 7-1, 11, 12), exhibits (ECF Nos. 7-2– 17, 11-1–2, 12-1), and all other papers of record, the Court will DENY the motion.
Motion decided Preliminary injunction or TRO Read by a model
Eight weeks after she filed her complaint, Ms. Gona moved for a preliminary injunction to compel USCIS to promptly adjudicate her applications.
Whose motion The plaintiff's motion Read by a model
Eight weeks after she filed her complaint, Ms. Gona moved for a preliminary injunction to compel USCIS to promptly adjudicate her applications.
Disposition Denied in the government's favor The principal motion was denied in full: a motion to dismiss denied so the case goes on, or relief denied on the merits. Read by a model
Based on the foregoing, the Court will deny the motion by separate order.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Based on the foregoing, the Court will deny the motion by separate order.
The delay claim Relief denied Read by a model
Based on the foregoing, the Court will deny the motion by separate order.
The other claims Not decided here Read by a model
Because Ms. Gona does not address her § 274a.13(d) claim in her preliminary injunction filings, the Court construes her motion for a preliminary injunction as seeking only an order pertaining to her unreasonable delay claim.
Months pending 7.6 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
On July 9, 2020, she filed applications to renew both her visa and her employment authorization.
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 applicant
  • 4. Competing prioritiesfavors the government
  • 5. Interests prejudicedfavors the applicant
  • 6. No impropriety neededneutral
Read by a model
The first factor, therefore, supports USCIS.
The government's delay arguments First-in, first-out processing accepted; Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
In sum, Ms. Gona has not disproven the agency’s assertion that it follows a first-in, firstout process. The first factor, therefore, supports USCIS.
Threshold rulings None Read by a model
Nationality India Read by a model
Ms. Gona is an Indian national who lives in Rockville, Maryland.

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:20-cv-03680
Filed
December 15, 2020
Ended
April 27, 2021
Suit's filing to its end
133 days
How it ended
Dismissed, ground not recorded
From the record
idb disp 2 (dismissed: want of prosecution)

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.