UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SINA KESHTKAR JAFARI, ) et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Case No. 1:19-cv-1819-RCL ) MICHAEL R. POMPEO, ) et al., ) ) Defendants. ) _______________________________________) MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiffs Sina Keshtkar Jafari and Golriz Akhyani have brought suit against defendants Michael R. Pompeo (in his official capacity as U.S. Secretary of State), William P. Barr (in his official capacity as U.S. Attorney General), Carl C. Risch (in his official capacity as Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Consular Affairs), Robert W. Thomas (in his official capacity as Consul General of the U.S. Consulate in Canada), and John Doe (in his official capacity as Consular Officer of the U.S. Consulate in Canada). Plaintiffs allege that defendants have failed to adjudicate Ms. Akhyani’s immigrant visa application in a timely manner and have therefore violated the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), 5. U.S.C. § 701 et seq. See generally ECF No. 1. Plaintiffs seek a writ of mandamus under 18 U.S.C. § 1361 compelling defendants to act on Ms. Akhyani’s application. Id. Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 10) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(1) and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6). Upon consideration of the motion, opposition (ECF No. 11), and reply (ECF No. 16), the Court will GRANT defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and ORDER that this case is dismissed with prejudice. 1 BACKGROUND I. PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION 9645 The Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) governs admission of aliens into the United States and normally requires a valid visa for entry. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1181-1182, 1203. The person seeking a visa bears the burden of establishing that she “is not inadmissible” and “is entitled to the nonimmigrant, immigrant or refugee status claimed.” 22 C.F.R. § 1361. Once a visa application is “completed and executed before a consular officer,” the consular officer must either issue or refuse the visa. 22 C.F.R. § 42.81(a). The INA gives the President broad authority to exclude aliens, providing: Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f). Pursuant to Section 1182(f), the President signed Presidential Proclamation 9645 (“Proclamation”). 82 Fed. Reg. 45161 (2017). This Proclamation resulted in entry restrictions on Iran due to inadequate information-sharing practices. The Proclamation does provide for waivers on a case-by-case basis if a foreign national demonstrates that (i) denying entry would cause undue hardship; (ii) entry would be in the national interest; and (iii) entry would not pose a threat to the national security or ...
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Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals