Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Massachusetts

Rivera Novack v. Miller

District of MassachusettsAngel KelleyDecided March 29, 2024

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

2,996 written decisions from 2,731 cases in the whole mandamus and agency-delay group, the group's newest decided November 12, 2026. Updated November 14, 2026 at 1:17 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 1,617 public decisions since January 1, 2025 that a CourtListener and GovInfo search for mandamus and agency delay finds, Passim holds 1,406 (87%), 1,039 of them in this group, measured November 14, 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
Novack first seeks relief under the Mandamus Act to compel USCIS to adjudicate her entry waiver application within 30 days (Count I).
Form or filing I-601A (provisional waiver) Read by a model
Novack asserts that Defendants have unreasonably withheld adjudication of her I-601A Waiver Application, in violation of Section 555(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”).
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
Novack first seeks relief under the Mandamus Act to compel USCIS to adjudicate her entry waiver application within 30 days (Count I).
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED because, while the Court finds that it has subject matter jurisdiction, it also concludes that Plaintiff has failed to adequately state a claim.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
In response, the Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) or, in the alternative, failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6).
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and for failure to state a claim under 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
Accordingly, Plaintiff’s claim is dismissed for the failure to state a claim.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Accordingly, Plaintiff’s claim is dismissed for the failure to state a claim.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
Accordingly, Plaintiff’s claim is dismissed for the failure to state a claim.
Months pending 39.3 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
To seek exception from this restriction, Novack filed an application for an unlawful presence waiver (“entry waiver”) by filing Form I-601A with USCIS on December 18, 2020.
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 neededfavors the government
Read by a model
First-come-first-served is a logical and identifiable rationale and therefore this factor leans in Defendant’s favor.
The government's delay arguments First-in, first-out processing accepted; Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
First-come-first-served is a logical and identifiable rationale and therefore this factor leans in Defendant’s favor.
Threshold rulings None Read by a model
Nationality El Salvador Read by a model
Novack is a forty-two-year-old citizen of El Salvador who entered the United States in 2003 without inspection.

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 First 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.