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Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

Meyou v. United States Department of State

District of ColumbiaJohn D. BatesDecided May 17, 2022

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

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What the decision decided

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Agency Department of State Read by a model
The complaint names as defendants the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassy in Benin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and U.S. Ambassador in Benin Patricia Mahoney.
Form or filing 221(g) (consular refusal); DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model
See Compl. in the Nature of Mandamus Arising from Defs.’ Refusal to Adjudicate Pl.’s Immigrant Visa Appl. [ECF No. 1] (“Compl.”) ¶¶ 2, 8.
What the suit asked for Finish 221(g) processing Read by a model
That notice, however, leaves open the possibility that the application was not truly refused but rather temporarily refused to allow for administrative processing.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
Because the alleged delay in adjudicating the visa application is neither unreasonable nor unconstitutional, the Court will grant the motion and dismiss the case without prejudice.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
To survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6),
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Defendants have moved to dismiss Meyou’s complaint in its entirety.
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
For the foregoing reasons, the Court will grant defendant s’ motion and dismiss the complaint in its entirety without prejudice.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
For the foregoing reasons, the Court will grant defendant s’ motion and dismiss the complaint in its entirety without prejudice.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
Because the alleged delay in adjudicating the visa application is neither unreasonable nor unconstitutional, the Court will grant the motion and dismiss the case without prejudice.
The other claims Dismissed Read by a model
Meyou does not specify whether he is articulating a substantive or procedural due process claim . But under either theory, his claim lacks merit, and defendants are entitled to dismissal.
Months pending 22.1 months from the application to the suit; 29.2 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
Meyou alleges that Eklou was interviewed on December 11, 2019, yet the visa application remains pending.
TRAC factors The court weighed the TRAC factors
  • 1. Rule of reasonfavors the government
  • 2. Congressional timetablefavors the government
  • 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 delay associated with COVID -19 is important context and provides another reason to conclude that TRAC factors one and two favor the government.
The government's delay arguments Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
The most important factors —those regarding the length of the delay and concerns about line-jumping—weigh in favor of granting the motion to dismiss, and factors three and five are not strong enough to justify the opposite conclusion.
Threshold rulings Consular nonreviewability rejected Read by a model
the Court finds that defendants have not demonstrated that the visa application received a final adjudication as required for the consular nonreviewability doctrine to apply
Nationality Benin Read by a model
Meyou’s wife , Mahugnon Eklou, is currently residing in Benin, where she is a citizen.
I-130 category Immediate relative Read by a model
Edmond Meyou is a United States citizen. Compl. ¶ 1. Meyou’s wife , Mahugnon Eklou, is currently residing in Benin, where she is a citizen.

How the case ended

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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.