Passim

Mandamus decisions / Eastern District of Pennsylvania

GETSON v. BLINKEN

Eastern District of PennsylvaniaMITCHELL S. GOLDBERGDecided July 14, 2025No. 2:23-cv-04027

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.

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 Department of State Read by a model
That same date, the U.S. Embassy in Athens issued a visa refusal worksheet, citing § 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), indicating that Shirzad’s original birth certificate or original ID with English translation were needed.
Form or filing 221(g) (consular refusal); DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model
Getson paid the required Immigrant Visa fees on December 1, 2021, and she and Shirzad completed and submitted the DS-260 Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application for Shirzad on February 11, 2022.
What the suit asked for Finish 221(g) processing Read by a model
Getson seeks a declaration that “Defendant’s 221(g) letter is not a final decision in this matter” and a final adjudication of Shirzad’s visa application.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
Because I find that this matter is not moot and Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint pleads plausible claims, the motion shall be denied.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), and for failure to state claims on which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), and for failure to state claims on which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).
Disposition Government's motion denied; the case goes on The government's motion (to dismiss, or for summary judgment) was denied, so the case goes on. Counted as the applicant's ruling; a later decision in the case can still go either way. Read by a model
Because I find that this matter is not moot and Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint pleads plausible claims, the motion shall be denied.
Prevailing party Applicant Read by a model
Because I find that this matter is not moot and Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint pleads plausible claims, the motion shall be denied.
The delay claim The delay claim goes on Read by a model
For this reason, the motion to dismiss the unreasonable delay claim is also denied.
Months pending 20.2 months from the application to the suit; 41 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
Getson paid the required Immigrant Visa fees on December 1, 2021, and she and Shirzad completed and submitted the DS-260 Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application for Shirzad on February 11, 2022.
TRAC factors The court did not weigh the TRAC factors Read by a model
Threshold rulings Mootness argument rejected; Duty to re-adjudicate a 221(g) refusal found Read by a model
Because I find that this matter is not moot and Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint pleads plausible claims, the motion shall be denied.
Nationality Afghanistan Read by a model
Mohammad Shirzad (“Shirzad”), an Afghan national
I-130 category Immediate relative Read by a model
Harley Getson (“Getson”) is a 27-year-old citizen of the United States who married Mohammad Shirzad (“Shirzad”), an Afghan national, on September 10, 2021 in Greece.

How the case ended

Docket
No. 2:23-cv-04027
On the docket
This ruling (ECF 46)
Filed
October 18, 2023
Ended
September 15, 2025
Suit's filing to its end
3 days
How it ended
Ended once the agency acted
From the record
stipulated dismissal 2025-09-12; 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.

The ruling's entry is the docket's one order or judgment entered the day of the decision. Both come from CourtListener's copy of the docket; check them there.

Supreme Court and Third 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.