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Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

Vafaei v. United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (Uscis)

District of ColumbiaColleen Kollar-KotellyDecided March 21, 2024

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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
Since November 2019, Plaintiff ’s petition has been awaiting adjudication with USCIS.
Form or filing I-526 (investor petition) Read by a model
Shortly t hereafter, on November 20, 2019, Plaintiff filed a I-526 petition with USCIS .
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
In his Complaint, Plaintiff requests that the Court enter a n order compelling Defendants to “adjudicate [his] I-526 petition without further delay.”
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
Court shall GRANT Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss and DISMISS Plaintiff ’s [1] Complaint for Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
Pending before the Court is Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (“Rule 12(b)(6)”).
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Pending before the Court is Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
Court shall GRANT Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss and DISMISS Plaintiff ’s [1] Complaint for Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Court shall GRANT Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss and DISMISS Plaintiff ’s [1] Complaint for Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
Court shall GRANT Defendants’ [5] Motion to Dismiss and DISMISS Plaintiff ’s [1] Complaint for Mandamus and Declaratory Judgment.
Months pending 30.6 months from the application to the suit; 52 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
on November 20, 2019, Plaintiff filed a I-526 petition with USCIS .
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 government
  • 4. Competing prioritiesfavors the government
  • 5. Interests prejudicedfavors the government
  • 6. No impropriety neededneutral
Read by a model
In sum, the Court finds that the first TRAC factor weighs in favor of Defendants , and the second TRAC factor only weighs slightly in Plaintiff ’s favor.
The government's delay arguments First-in, first-out processing accepted; Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
Like other district courts in this jurisdiction, the Court concludes that USCIS’s “visa availability approach” adheres to an “ identifiable rationale.”
Threshold rulings None Read by a model
Nationality Germany Read by a model
Plaintiff Baktash Vafaei is a citizen and resident of Germany. Compl. ¶ 7. His country of birth is Iran.

How the case ended

This decision is not linked to a docket in the docket record yet, so how the case ended is not shown.

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.