221(g) (consular refusal)
Written decisions in the mandamus and agency-delay group that name this form or filing, in every court.
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.
How the decisions came out
This page counts 538 of the group's written decisions, from 506 cases; the newest of them was decided November 12, 2026. The line at the top counts the whole group.
538written decisions
506cases they come from
223decisions weigh the TRAC factors
12.4median months from the application to the suit
Each case counts once in these outcome counts, by its latest decision here: the 32 other orders in those cases are listed with their case, not counted again. A motion to dismiss denied and a later judgment for the government count as the judgment. How decisions are grouped into cases.
Disposition, by case
- Granted (either side's motion)11
- Granted in part4
- Denied (either side's motion)6
- Government's motion denied; the case goes on22
- Dismissed337
- Dismissed in part; some claims go on35
- Dismissed as moot31
- Remanded to the agency1
- Magistrate judge's recommendation14
- Transferred to another court11
- Attorney's fees2
- Not recorded32
Months from the application to the suit
12.4 months at the median; half fall between 7.7 and 19.5. 308 cases state it.
Months from the application to the court's decision, or to the agency's action where it acted first
21.9 months at the median; half fall between 16.1 and 31.6. 430 decisions state it.
In 41 of these the agency acted before the decision, so the months run to that action, where the delay ended.
Leaves out the 31 decisions holding that the agency had acted where no reading dates that action: their months to the decision are not a delay.
What the suits asked for, by case
- Decide the application20
- Schedule an interview1
- Finish 221(g) processing432
- Some other action12
- Not recorded41
Forms and filings these cases name
- 221(g) (consular refusal)506
- DS-260 (immigrant visa)299
- DS-160 (nonimmigrant visa)196
- I-130 (relative petition)10
- I-129 (worker petition)2
- I-360 (special immigrant petition)2
- I-485 (adjustment of status)2
- DS-2301
- I-129F (fiancé(e) petition)1
- I-526 (investor petition)1
- I-730 (refugee or asylee relative petition)1
A case that names another form beside this one is counted under both.
Decisions by year
Download these 538 decisions as a spreadsheet (CSV).
Examples
The newest case with each of the most common dispositions, by its latest decision.
D.D.C., November 12, 2026. Dismissed; prevailing party: government.
N.D. Cal., October 21, 2026. Dismissed in part; some claims go on; prevailing party: each side in part.
D.D.C., October 26, 2026. Dismissed as moot; prevailing party: government.
Rulings on the government's threshold defenses
How many of the decisions in the group that name this form applied each defense (the defense held) and how many rejected it. A decision counts where it rules on the defense, so most count under none or one. Each count opens those decisions in the list.
| Defense | Applied | Rejected |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1252(a)(2)(B) jurisdiction bar | 1 | 3 |
| Consular nonreviewability | 64 | 176 |
| No duty to re-adjudicate a 221(g) refusal | 142 | 107 |
| Mootness (the agency acted) | 65 | 59 |
| APA adequate-remedy bar to mandamus | 27 | 0 |
This page covers written decisions only: a suit's form is known mostly from its written decision, so counting suits by form would keep mostly the contested ones (how forms are read).