Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

Sheikhi v. Trump

District of ColumbiaTimothy J. KellyDecided November 24, 2020No. 1:19-cv-02901

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

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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 Department of State Read by a model
And third, the government argues that, even if the APA applies, Dr. Sheikhi cannot show the State Department has unreasonably delayed its processing of his waiver request.
Form or filing DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model
On January 23, 2019, Dr. Sheikhi attended an immigrant visa interview at that U.S. Embassy.
What the suit asked for Some other action Read by a model
He seeks to compel the Government under the APA or the Mandamus Act to finish processing his waiver, thereby clearing the way for him to be eligible for the immigration visa.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
For all these reasons, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 10, will be GRANTED.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
Before the Court is the Government’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim.
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Before the Court is the Government’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim.
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
Thus, the Court will grant the motion and dismiss the case.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Thus, the Court will grant the motion and dismiss the case.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
Turning to the merits, the Court agrees with the Government that Dr. Sheikhi has not stated a claim under the APA or for mandamus, and that the case must be dismissed.
Months pending 8 months from the application to the suit; 22.3 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
His request for a waiver has been pending since January 2019, about twenty-two months.
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 government
  • 4. Competing prioritiesfavors the government
  • 5. Interests prejudicedfavors the applicant
  • 6. No impropriety neededneutral
Read by a model
The first factor is the most important, In re Core Comms., Inc., 531 F.3d 849, 855 (D.C. Cir. 2008), and it—along with the second factor—favors the Government.
The government's delay arguments Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
The fourth factor, which requires accounting for the effects of expedited action on “agency activities of equal or greater priority,” also favors the Government.
Threshold rulings Consular nonreviewability rejected; Mootness argument rejected Read by a model
Thus, the consular nonreviewability doctrine does not bar his claims.
Nationality Iran Read by a model
Dr. Sheikhi is an Iranian national
212(f) proclamation Proclamation 9645 Read by a model
request for a waiver from Presidential Proclamation 9645, which otherwise bars him from receiving an employment-based immigration visa.

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:19-cv-02901
Filed
September 26, 2019
Ended
November 24, 2020
Suit's filing to its end
425 days
How it ended
Dismissed, ground not recorded
From the record
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.

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.