Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

Sidhu v. Emmel

District of ColumbiaTimothy J. KellyDecided June 20, 2024No. 1:23-cv-02963

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

2,914 written decisions from 2,661 cases in the whole mandamus and agency-delay group, the group's newest decided October 30, 2026. Updated November 3, 2026 at 1:24 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 1,606 public decisions since January 1, 2025 that a CourtListener and GovInfo search for mandamus and agency delay finds, Passim holds 1,371 (85%), measured November 3, 2026. Some of what that search finds are not mandamus decisions. Tell us about a decision we're missing.

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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
Plaintiff argues that “USCIS stopped processing the petition during the lapse despite having the legal authority to continue working on pending petitions.”
Form or filing I-526 (investor petition) Read by a model
when he filed an I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur.
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
He alleges that Defendants have unreasonably delayed resolving his visa application and seeks to compel them to issue a final decision.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
For all these reasons, the Court will grant Defendants’ motion and dismiss the case.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
Defendants move to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Defendants move to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
For all these reasons, the Court will grant Defendants’ motion and dismiss the case.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
For all these reasons, the Court will grant Defendants’ motion and dismiss the case.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
For all these reasons, the Court will grant Defendants’ motion and dismiss the case.
The other claims Dismissed Read by a model
To the extent Count II is not duplicative of Count I, it still fails to state a claim.
Months pending 27.5 months from the application to the suit; 35.7 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
since June 29, 2021, when he filed an I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur.
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
At bottom, these circumstances further underscore why the first and second factors, taken together, weigh in Defendants’ favor.
The government's delay arguments First-in, first-out processing accepted; Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
In addition, Defendants use a “visa availability” approach to process Form I-526 petitions, see ECF No. 3 at 8–10, which the D.C. Circuit has found qualifies as a “rule of reason,” satisfying the first TRAC factor.
Threshold rulings None Read by a model
Nationality India Read by a model
Plaintiff is an Indian national living in Australia

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:23-cv-02963
Filed
October 4, 2023
Ended
June 20, 2024
Suit's filing to its end
260 days
How it ended
Dismissed, ground not recorded
From the record
idb disp 14 (dismissed: other)

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.