Passim

Mandamus decisions / Northern District of California

Kalinowsky v. Mayorkas

Northern District of CaliforniaVirginia K. DeMarchiDecided September 20, 2023No. 5:22-cv-07209

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.

These are counts of past written decisions and dockets, not predictions of how any case will be decided. A distribution appears only when at least 5 decisions (or 5 dockets) are behind it; smaller groups are listed, not summarized. How it's counted.

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
He alleges that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has unreasonably delayed adjudication of his visa application, known as a Form I-526 petition.
Form or filing I-526 (investor petition) Read by a model
Mr. Kalinowsky filed a Form I-526 petition on November 19, 2019 as part of the EB-5 Regional Center program.
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
an order compelling USCIS to adjudicate his petition with 30 days
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
Accordingly, the Court grants USCIS’s motion for summary judgment and denies Mr. Kalinowsky’s motion for summary judgment.
Motion decided Summary judgment Read by a model
Accordingly, the Court grants USCIS’s motion for summary judgment and denies Mr. Kalinowsky’s motion for summary judgment.
Whose motion Cross-motions Read by a model
Accordingly, the Court grants USCIS’s motion for summary judgment and denies Mr. Kalinowsky’s motion for summary judgment.
Disposition Granted in the government's favor The principal motion was granted in full: summary judgment for either side, an injunction or TRO, a writ or order to act, fees. A motion to dismiss granted in full counts as Dismissed; a transfer is listed apart. Read by a model
Accordingly, the Court grants USCIS’s motion for summary judgment and denies Mr. Kalinowsky’s motion for summary judgment.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Accordingly, the Court grants USCIS’s motion for summary judgment and denies Mr. Kalinowsky’s motion for summary judgment.
The delay claim Relief denied Read by a model
On this summary judgment record, the Court concludes that the agency’s delay is not unreasonable as a matter of law and that Mr. Kalinowsky is not entitled to the relief he seeks under the APA or the Mandamus Act.
Months pending 46 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
Mr. Kalinowsky filed a Form I-526 petition on November 19, 2019 as part of the EB-5 Regional Center program.
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
Accordingly, the Court concludes that the first TRAC factor weighs in favor of USCIS.
The government's delay arguments First-in, first-out processing accepted; Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
Moreover, as the USCIS observes, every district court that has considered USCIS’s “visa availability” approach to review of Form I-526 petitions has determined that the approach satisfies the requirements for a rule of reason.
Threshold rulings None Read by a model
Nationality Canada Read by a model
Plaintiff Mark Kalinowsky is a Canadian national who applied for an immigrant visa under the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program.

How the case ended

Docket
No. 5:22-cv-07209
Filed
November 16, 2022
Ended
September 20, 2023
Suit's filing to its end
308 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. Other suits in this court.

Supreme Court and Ninth 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.