Judges / Southern District of New York

Paul Adam Engelmayer

Written decisions in the mandamus and agency-delay group that Judge Paul Adam Engelmayer signed, every one listed below, and the agency-delay suits that name the judge.

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.

Read these counts as a record of past decisions, not a rate at which this judge rules for either side and not a prediction. Each decision turned on its own facts, its posture and what the parties asked for; the suits that reach a written decision are the contested minority. Read the decisions before drawing anything from them.

How the decisions came out

This page counts 10 of the group's written decisions, from 9 cases; the newest of them was decided September 11, 2026. The line at the top counts the whole group.

10written decisions
9cases they come from
1decisions weigh the TRAC factors
13.8median months from the application to the suit

Each case counts once in these outcome counts, by its latest decision here: the 1 other order in those cases is 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

  • Dismissed8
  • Dismissed as moot1

Prevailing party, by case

  • Government8
  • Neither side1

Months from the application to the suit

13.8 months at the median; half fall between 8.2 and 31.2. 5 cases state it.

Months from the application to the court's decision

23.5 months at the median; half fall between 15 and 44.5. 5 decisions state it.

Leaves out the 1 decision holding that the agency had acted: its months to the decision are not a delay.

What the suits asked for, by case

  • Decide the application3
  • Finish 221(g) processing3
  • Some other action1
  • Not recorded2

Agency, by case

  • USCIS4
  • Department of State3
  • Department of Labor1
  • Not recorded1

Form or filing, by case

  • 221(g) (consular refusal)3
  • DS-260 (immigrant visa)3
  • I-485 (adjustment of status)2
  • I-130 (relative petition)1
  • I-526 (investor petition)1

Decisions by year

TRAC rulings

Decisions in which the judge weighed the TRAC factors, newest first, with how the judge found each factor. Factors the decision did not reach are left blank.

DecisionDecided1. Rule of reason2. Congressional timetable3. Human health and welfare4. Competing priorities5. Interests prejudiced6. No impropriety neededDisposition
Kaur v. Mayorkas August 1, 2023 favors the governmentfavors the applicantfavors the applicantfavors the governmentfavors the applicantneutral Dismissed

Every decision, by case

All 10 of the judge's decisions in the group, in 9 cases, newest first. Each case's latest decision comes first and is the one the counts above count; the case's other orders follow it. Download every decision as a spreadsheet (CSV).

DecisionDecidedAgencyFormDispositionPrevailing party
Qian v. Noem September 11, 2026 Not recorded Dismissed Government
Alburakeh v. Armstrong December 1, 2025 Department of State 221(g), DS-260 Dismissed Government
American Immigration Visa Kits, Inc. v. Su August 4, 2025 Department of Labor Dismissed Government
Guo v. Mayorkas and 1 other order in this case, below December 5, 2024 USCIS I-485 Dismissed Government
Other order in this case Guo v. Mayorkas November 20, 2024 USCIS I-485 Magistrate judge's recommendation Neither side
Rashed v. Blinken November 27, 2024 Department of State 221(g), DS-260 Dismissed Government
Esghai v. U.S. Department of State November 12, 2024 Department of State 221(g), DS-260 Dismissed Government
Kaur v. Mayorkas August 1, 2023 USCIS I-526 Dismissed Government
Balde v. Nielson June 6, 2019 USCIS I-130 Dismissed as moot Neither side
Pineda Suero v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security April 10, 2019 USCIS I-485 Dismissed Government

How agency-delay suits ended

Most suits end without a written decision: the agency acts and the parties dismiss. These counts come from the docket record (the federal courts' Integrated Database and CourtListener) and count every mandamus, APA and section 1447(b) suit against any immigration agency, whatever year it was filed, among the dockets that name this judge. Check a delay counts fewer: a court's suits of the last three years against the form's agency.

22suits in the docket record
22have ended
0still pending
163median days from the suit's filing to its end

How the ended suits ended

  • Ended once the agency actedThe plaintiff dismissed, the parties stipulated to dismissal, or the court dismissed as moot: how suits end once the agency decides. The docket rarely says why, or whether the agency approved or denied.12
  • Dismissed on jurisdiction or the meritsDismissed for want of jurisdiction or on the TRAC factors, or judgment for the government.5
  • Dismissed, ground not recordedThe court dismissed and the record gives no ground: it can be a dismissal as moot after the agency acted, for want of prosecution, or a loss.3
  • TransferredMoved to another district court.1
  • Ended, outcome not recordedThe record shows the suit ended but not how.1

Days from the suit's filing to its end

163 days at the median; half fall between 77 and 241. 22 dockets state it.

Days from the suit's filing to its end, when it ended once the agency acted

127.5 days at the median; half fall between 68.5 and 165.2. 12 dockets state it.

8 of these suits have a written decision in the group.