DS-160 (nonimmigrant visa)
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 243 of the group's written decisions, from 232 cases; the newest of them was decided November 12, 2026. The line at the top counts the whole group.
243written decisions
232cases they come from
111decisions weigh the TRAC factors
9.5median months from the application to the suit
Each case counts once in these outcome counts, by its latest decision here: the 11 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)4
- Granted in part1
- Denied (either side's motion)2
- Government's motion denied; the case goes on9
- Dismissed156
- Dismissed in part; some claims go on18
- Dismissed as moot15
- Magistrate judge's recommendation1
- Transferred to another court13
- Procedural order1
- Attorney's fees1
- Not recorded11
Months from the application to the suit
9.5 months at the median; half fall between 6.6 and 14.9. 133 cases state it.
Months from the application to the court's decision, or to the agency's action where it acted first
18.2 months at the median; half fall between 13.7 and 23.9. 176 decisions state it.
In 13 of these the agency acted before the decision, so the months run to that action, where the delay ended.
Leaves out the 24 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 application25
- Schedule an interview4
- Finish 221(g) processing173
- Some other action9
- Not recorded21
Forms and filings these cases name
- DS-160 (nonimmigrant visa)232
- 221(g) (consular refusal)193
- DS-260 (immigrant visa)8
- I-129 (worker petition)2
A case that names another form beside this one is counted under both.
Decisions by year
Download these 243 decisions as a spreadsheet (CSV).
Examples
The newest case with each of the most common dispositions, by its latest decision.
D.D.C., November 5, 2026. Dismissed; prevailing party: government.
D. Mass., August 25, 2026. Dismissed in part; some claims go on; prevailing party: each side in part.
D.D.C., November 12, 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 | 0 | 1 |
| Consular nonreviewability | 31 | 71 |
| No duty to re-adjudicate a 221(g) refusal | 60 | 38 |
| Mootness (the agency acted) | 33 | 15 |
| APA adequate-remedy bar to mandamus | 6 | 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).