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Mandamus decisions / Southern District of New York

Zapata v. Immigration & Naturalization Service

Southern District of New YorkMukaseyDecided January 3, 2000No. 1:98-cv-06066

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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 Not recorded Read by a model
Form or filing I-485 (adjustment of status) Read by a model
Zapata's wife, Margarita Zapata, also sought to adjust her status, based on her husband's application.
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
The Zapatas thus sought an injunction requiring the INS (1) to rule upon their application for an adjustment of status before September 30, 1998 and (2) to reserve for them two of the 55,000 diversity visas allocated for 1998.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
For the reasons stated above, defendants' motion to dismiss is granted and the complaint is dismissed.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction Read by a model
For the reasons stated below, defendants' Rule 12(b)(1) motion is granted, and the case is dismissed.
Whose motion Cross-motions Read by a model
On September 10, 1998, defendants filed a memorandum of law in opposition to the Zapatas' request for a preliminary injunction, and cross-moved to dismiss the complaint or for judgment on the pleadings.
Prevailing party Neither side Read by a model
Accordingly, this case is moot, and this court may not exercise jurisdiction over it.
The delay claim Moot: the agency acted Read by a model
Accordingly, the Zapatas' first request for injunctive relief is plainly moot, and this court may not exercise subject matter jurisdiction over it.
Months pending 9.8 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 October 31, 1997, Zapata applied to adjust his status to permanent resident on the basis of his eligibility for a 1998 diversity visa.
TRAC factors The court did not weigh the TRAC factors Read by a model
The government's delay arguments Visa availability accepted Read by a model
Therefore, because September 30, 1998 has passed, 1998 diversity visas can no longer be issued to the Zapatas or to anyone else.
Threshold rulings Held moot Read by a model
Accordingly, this case is moot, and this court may not exercise jurisdiction over it.
Nationality Peru Read by a model
Limber Zapata, a Peruvian citizen living in the United States

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:98-cv-06066
Filed
August 26, 1998
Ended
January 10, 2000
Suit's filing to its end
502 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.

Supreme Court and Second 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 14, 2026. Check the current status before relying on one.