Passim

Mandamus decisions / District of Columbia

GOODLUCK v. BIDEN, JR.

District of ColumbiaAmit P. MehtaDecided September 30, 2021No. 1:21-cv-01530

Read the decisionOriginal on CourtListener

2,914 written decisions from 2,661 cases in the whole mandamus and agency-delay group, the group's newest decided October 30, 2026. Updated November 3, 2026 at 1:24 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 1,606 public decisions since January 1, 2025 that a CourtListener and GovInfo search for mandamus and agency delay finds, Passim holds 1,371 (85%), measured November 3, 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’s order will reserve a number of visas for the State Department to continue processing after the Fiscal Year.
Form or filing DS-260 (immigrant visa) Read by a model
That would be the State Department’s complete cessation of adjudicating diversity visa applications for five months and its unlawful deprioritizing of those applications when adjudications resumed.
What the suit asked for Some other action Read by a model
Defendants have made no attempt to explain how the relief that Plaintiffs in this matter seek—reservation of visas—is “individualized,” and, indeed, it is not.
Kind of order A ruling on a motion or the petition Read by a model
Accordingly, the court orders the State Department to reserve 6,914 diversity visas for adjudication pending final judgment in the Goodluck-related matters
Motion decided Preliminary injunction or TRO Read by a model
Reserving additional visas past the close of the fiscal year also comports with the additional requirements of injunctive relief.
Whose motion The plaintiff's motion Read by a model
Plaintiffs in the Goodluck-related cases request that the court “preserve a visa for every single plaintiff.”
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, the court orders the State Department to reserve 6,914 diversity visas for adjudication pending final judgment in the Goodluck-related matters
Prevailing party Applicant Read by a model
Accordingly, the court orders the State Department to reserve 6,914 diversity visas for adjudication pending final judgment in the Goodluck-related matters
The delay claim Relief ordered Read by a model
The State Department shall adjudicate the 481 diversity visas reserved for the Goh Plaintiffs by the close of Fiscal Year 2022.
The other claims Relief ordered Read by a model
Here, the court is awarding programmatic relief to parties before the court by requiring the State Department to preserve visas for later processing, and as such, only one Plaintiff must demonstrate standing for the court to award relief.
Months pending Not stated Read by a model
TRAC factors The court did not weigh the TRAC factors Read by a model
Threshold rulings None Read by a model

Other orders in this case

The group holds 2 decisions from this suit, oldest first. Outcome counts on these pages count the case once, by its latest decision, this one. How decisions are grouped into cases.

DecisionDecidedJudgeDisposition
GOODLUCK v. BIDEN, JR. September 9, 2021 Amit P. Mehta Granted in the applicant's favor
GOODLUCK v. BIDEN, JR.This decisionThe case's latest decision: its outcome is the one counted September 30, 2021 Amit P. Mehta Granted in the applicant's favor

How the case ended

Docket
No. 1:21-cv-01530
Filed
June 7, 2021
Ended
September 27, 2024
Suit's filing to its end
1,208 days
How it ended
Dismissed on jurisdiction or the merits
From the record
idb disp 17 (judgment: other), 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 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.