Mandamus decisions / Central District of California
Galvez v. Howerton
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
The Court orders the defendant Secretary of State to issue A.T. Cortes and E. Cortes Fifth Preference visa numbers and to charge them to the 1979 visa allotments. |
|---|---|
| Form or filing |
I-130 (relative petition); I-485 (adjustment of status)
Read by a model
Plaintiff filed a complaint on November 2, 1979, in the nature of a mandamus to compel administrative action by the INS in processing the I-130 and I-485 forms. |
| What the suit asked for |
Some other action
Read by a model
They seek a court order compelling the defendants to issue them appropriate visa numbers. |
| Kind of order |
A ruling on a motion or the petition
Read by a model
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is denied. |
| Motion decided |
Summary judgment
Read by a model
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is denied. |
| Whose motion |
Cross-motions
Read by a model
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is denied. |
| Disposition |
Granted in the applicant'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, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is denied. |
| Prevailing party |
Applicant
Read by a model
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is denied. |
| The delay claim |
Relief ordered
Read by a model
The Court orders the defendant Secretary of State to issue A.T. Cortes and E. Cortes Fifth Preference visa numbers and to charge them to the 1979 visa allotments. |
| Months pending |
4.2 months from the application to the suit; 13.8 months from the application to the court's decision
Read by a model
On June 28, 1979, Galvez filed an "I-130E" application with the INS in Los Angeles to have her sister, A.T. Cortes, classified as a Fifth Preference immigrant [1] from Mexico under 8 U.S.C. § 1153(a)(5). |
| TRAC factors | The court did not weigh the TRAC factors Read by a model |
| The government's delay arguments |
Visa availability rejected
Read by a model
As a result, the Government is estopped from denying the *37 availability of appropriate visa numbers for plaintiffs Amelia Toral de Cortes ("A.T. Cortes") and Enrique Cortes-Villalobos ("E. Cortes") |
| Threshold rulings | None Read by a model |
| Nationality |
Mexico
Read by a model
plaintiffs A.T. Cortes and her husband, E. Cortes, are Mexican citizens currently residing in California. |
| I-130 category |
Family preference
Read by a model
On June 28, 1979, Galvez filed an "I-130E" application with the INS in Los Angeles to have her sister, A.T. Cortes, classified as a Fifth Preference immigrant |
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 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 14, 2026. Check the current status before relying on one.
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Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667
Supreme Court, June 26, 2018. Mandel's facially-legitimate-and-bona-fide standard governs constitutional challenges to entry restrictions, and a citation to a valid statutory ground ordinarily satisfies it.
ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
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Department of State v. Muñoz, 602 U.S. 899
Supreme Court, June 21, 2024. A U.S. citizen has no fundamental liberty interest in a noncitizen spouse's admission, so marriage alone entitles the citizen neither to Mandel review of the consular refusal nor to an explanation beyond the statutory citation.
ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
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Kleindienst v. Mandel, 408 U.S. 753
Supreme Court, June 29, 1972. When a visa refusal burdens a U.S. citizen's own constitutional rights, courts ask only whether the Executive gave a facially legitimate and bona fide reason and do not look behind it.
ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
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Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, 542 U.S. 55
Supreme Court, June 14, 2004. Section 706(1) and mandamus reach only a discrete agency action that the agency is legally required to take, so a court cannot compel programmatic improvements or action the law leaves to agency discretion.
ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
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Allen v. Milas, 896 F.3d 1094
Ninth Circuit, July 24, 2018. The APA provides no avenue for review of a consular visa refusal beyond Mandel's facially-legitimate-and-bona-fide inquiry, and consular nonreviewability is not a jurisdictional bar.
ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance. ImmCite has read all 8 published decisions citing this case, as of 2026-11-13; none treats it adversely. That describes those decisions; it is not a determination that the case is good law.
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Sanchez Gonzalez v. United States Department of State, No. 23-4205 (9th Cir. Apr. 30, 2026)
Ninth Circuit, April 30, 2026. After Muñoz, a citizen spouse's own First Amendment interest triggered Mandel review, which a facially legitimate and bona fide reason satisfied absent a showing of bad faith.
ImmCite: unchecked, treatment not confirmed yet, not evidence either way. ImmCite has found no published decision citing this case as of 2026-10-18; it checks for new citing decisions daily. That is not a determination that the case is good law.
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Independence Mining Co. v. Babbitt, 105 F.3d 502
Ninth Circuit, January 23, 1997. Mandamus and APA § 706(1) claims to compel delayed agency action are analyzed alike under the TRAC factors.
ImmCite: treatment available, history exists, not clearance
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Vaz v. Neal, 33 F.4th 1131
Ninth Circuit, May 9, 2022. Section 706(1) compels only a clear, mandatory and discrete duty that has been unreasonably delayed under TRAC, and the APA's prerequisites go to the merits while § 1331 supplies jurisdiction.
ImmCite: unchecked, treatment not confirmed yet, not evidence either way. ImmCite has found no published decision citing this case as of 2026-11-10; it checks for new citing decisions daily. That is not a determination that the case is good law. The citation index lists 145 other decisions citing it, none a Supreme Court, BIA or Attorney General precedent or a published circuit opinion; ImmCite's status does not review them.