Bozorgkhoo v. Blinken

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California grants Defendants’ alternative motion for summary judgment in an action seeking to compel adjudication of delayed immigrant visa applications. The court holds that visa refusals under INA § 221(g) for administrative processing were not final decisions subject to consular non-reviewability. Applying the TRAC factors, the court concludes that the 14- to 19-month delays were not unreasonable under applicable case law.

Holdings

1. The doctrine of consular non-reviewability did not apply because, accepting the allegations as true, the § 221(g) refusals accompanied by requests for additional documents and administrative processing were not final decisions.
2. The 14-to-19-month delays were not unreasonable under the applicable caselaw and the six TRAC factors, so defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the unreasonable-delay claim.
3. The Mandamus Act claim failed because plaintiffs had an adequate remedy under the APA, and the APA unreasonable-delay claim failed.
4. Plaintiffs' APA § 706(2) claims were subject to dismissal because they did not identify a final agency action for the court to set aside.
5. The absence of the U.S.-citizen petitioner did not require dismissal because the nonresident alien plaintiffs could establish standing to challenge unreasonable delay, and the government conceded that the petitioner was not indispensable.

Questions Presented

1. Whether consular non-reviewability barred judicial review of visa applications refused under INA § 221(g) while additional documents and administrative processing remained pending.
2. Whether the delay in adjudicating plaintiffs' immigrant-visa applications was unreasonable under APA § 706(1).
3. Whether plaintiffs could obtain relief under the Mandamus Act for the alleged visa-adjudication delay.
4. Whether plaintiffs stated cognizable APA § 706(2) claims without identifying a final agency action to set aside.
5. Whether the absence of the U.S.-citizen petitioner for one family group required dismissal for lack of standing or failure to join an indispensable party.

Disposition

other