UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ALI TAVAKOLI JOORABI, ) et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Case No. 1:20-cv-108-RCL ) MICHAEL R. POMPEO, ) et al., ) ) Defendants. ) _______________________________________) MEMORANDUM OPINION On January 15, 2020, plaintiffs Ali Tavakoli Joorabi, Fatemeh Tavakoli Joorabi, Mohammad Tavakoli Joorabi, and Carpet & Floors Market, Inc. filed this lawsuit against defendants Michael R. Pompeo (in his official capacity as U.S. Secretary of State), Carl C. Risch (in his official capacity as Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs), Chad F. Wolf (in his official capacity as Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security), and David M. Satterfield (in his official capacity as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey). ECF No. 1. Plaintiffs allege that defendants have failed to adjudicate the Tavakolis’ immigrant visa applications in a timely manner and have therefore violated the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”). Id. Plaintiffs seek a writ of mandamus under 28 U.S.C. § 1361 compelling defendants to act on plaintiffs’ applications. Id. Defendants have filed a Motion to Dismiss 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 that motion (ECF No. 5), plaintiffs’ opposition (ECF No. 6), and defendants’ reply (ECF No. 7), the Court 1 will GRANT defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and ORDER that this case is dismissed with prejudice. 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 public safety. Proclamation § 3(c)(i)(A)-(C). The applicant bears the burden ...
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Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals