Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Maryland

Dennis v. Blinken

District of MarylandJulie Rebecca RubinDecided July 26, 2023No. 1:22-cv-02522

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
Plaintiffs filed this action alleging that Defendants have unreasonably delayed scheduling and adjudicating Plaintiff-wife’s visa application at the United States Consulate in Monrovia, Libera.
Form or filing DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model
on April 20, 2020, Plaintiff-wife filled out the Form DS- 260 application.
What the suit asked for Decide the application Read by a model
an order compelling “Defendants to complete all necessary steps and adjudicate Plaintiff-wife’s immigrant visa application within forty-five (45) days from an [o]rder of this [c]ourt;”
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
For the reasons that follow, by accompanying order, the Motion will be granted.
Motion decided Motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim Read by a model
Accordingly, the court will construe the Motion under Rule 12(b)(6).
Whose motion The government's motion Read by a model
Pending before the court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment.
Disposition Dismissed The case or every delay claim was dismissed for a reason other than mootness. Read by a model
Accordingly, by separate order, the Motion will be granted.
Prevailing party Government Read by a model
Considering the TRAC factors together, for the reasons set forth above, the court concludes that Plaintiffs fail to state a plausible unreasonable delay claim.
The delay claim Dismissed Read by a model
Considering the TRAC factors together, for the reasons set forth above, the court concludes that Plaintiffs fail to state a plausible unreasonable delay claim.
Months pending 29.4 months from the application to the suit; 39.2 months from the application to the court's decision Read by a model
on April 20, 2020, Plaintiff-wife filled out the Form DS- 260 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
Accordingly, the first two factors weigh in favor of Defendants.
The government's delay arguments Line-jumping accepted Read by a model
Ultimately, the relief that Plaintiffs seek is simply what courts seek to avoid—a reordering of the queue of applicants when no net gain in such adjudications is achieved.
Threshold rulings None Read by a model
I-130 category Family preference Read by a model
Plaintiffs Kaifa Dennis and Souriah Dennis are husband and wife. They married on December 30, 2011, in Liberia. (ECF No. 1 ¶ 4.) Plaintiff Kaifa Dennis (hereinafter referred to as “Plaintiff-husband”) is a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:22-cv-02522
Filed
October 3, 2022
Ended
July 26, 2023
Suit's filing to its end
296 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 Fourth 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.