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Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

GILIANA v. BLINKEN

District of ColumbiaChristopher R. CooperDecided March 29, 2022No. 1:21-cv-01416

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What the decision decided

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Agency Department of State Read by a model
Plaintiff Dan Giliana, a United States citizen, seeks to compel the Department of State to adjudicate his Iraqi fiancée’s U.S. visa application , which has been pending for nearly four years .
Form or filing 221(g) (consular refusal); DS-160 (nonimmigrant visa) Read by a model
Plaintiff Dan Giliana, a United States citizen, seeks to compel the Department of State to adjudicate his Iraqi fiancée’s U.S. visa application , which has been pending for nearly four years .
What the suit asked for Finish 221(g) processing Read by a model
He seeks an order directing the government to process Shamon’s visa application within fifteen days and declaratory and injunctive relief as to CARRP.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
For these reasons, the Court will grant the government’s motion to dismiss and deny Giliana’s motion for summary judgment.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim; Summary judgment Read by a model
The government moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) ; Giliana filed an opposition and a motion for summary judgment, attaching a supporting declaration to both.
Whose motion Cross-motions Read by a model
For these reasons, the Court will grant the government’s motion to dismiss and deny Giliana’s motion for summary judgment.
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
For these reasons, the Court will grant the government’s motion to dismiss and deny Giliana’s motion for summary judgment.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
For these reasons, the Court will grant the government’s motion to dismiss and deny Giliana’s motion for summary judgment.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
BecauseGiliana has not plausibly alleged that the delay in adjudicating his fiancé e’svisa application is unreasonable, or that she has been injured in any concrete way by CARRP, the Court will grant the government’s motion and dismiss the case .
The other claims Dismissed Read by a model
BecauseGiliana has not plausibly alleged that the delay in adjudicating his fiancé e’svisa application is unreasonable, or that she has been injured in any concrete way by CARRP, the Court will grant the government’s motion and dismiss the case .
Months pending 31 months from the application to the suit; 41.4 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
A few months later, in October 2018, a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq interviewed Shamon and reviewed her visa application.
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
In sum, while both sides have points in their favor, considering all the relevant circumstances presented here, the Court finds the first two factors support the government.
The government's delay arguments Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
The fourth factor also decidedly favors the government, as “ajudicialorder putting” Shamon’s application “at the head of the queue” would “move[] all others back one space and produce[] no net gain.”
Threshold rulings Consular nonreviewability rejected Read by a model
The Court first will address, and reject, the government’s argument that the doctrine of consular non-reviewability precludes the Court from reviewing Giliana’s unreasonable delay claim.
Nationality Iraq Read by a model
his Iraqi fiancée’s U.S. visa application

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:21-cv-01416
Filed
May 25, 2021
Ended
March 29, 2022
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 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.