UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________________________ ) FATIMA ASLAM, ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 19-2132 (ABJ) ) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND ) SECURITY, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________________) MEMORANDUM OPINION On July 18, 2019, plaintiff Fatima Aslam filed a complaint seeking to compel the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”), the United States Consulate in Islamabad, Pakistan, the United States Department of State (“DOS”), and the heads of those organizations, 1 to adjudicate a spousal visa for her husband, Muhammad Zulqarnain. See Compl. [Dkt. # 1]. The complaint includes two causes of action: Count One alleges that the decision on the visa application has been unreasonably delayed in contravention of law, and Count Two alleges that the defendants’ failure to act violates the plaintiff’s due process rights under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 1 Plaintiff originally sued Kevin K. McAleenan, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, Director of USCIS, Paul Jones, Charge d’Affaires of the United States at the U.S. Consulate in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Michael Pompeo, Secretary of State. Compl. at 1–2. Alejandro Mayorkas is now the Secretary of Homeland Security, Tracy Renaud is the Senior Official Performing the Duties of USCIS Director, Angela Aggeler is the Charge D’Affaires at the U.S. Consulate in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Antony Blinken is Secretary of State. They are automatically substituted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), and the docket has not yet caught up with the changes in personnel. Compl. ¶¶ 23–41. Plaintiff asks the Court to issue a writ of mandamus ordering the issuance of an immigrant visa or, alternatively, to order defendants to complete all administrative proceedings within sixty days. See Request for Relief, Compl. [Dkt. # 1], at 9. 2 Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), defendants have moved to dismiss plaintiff’s claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss [Dkt. # 14] (“Mot.”) at 1. Alternatively, defendants move for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Id. For the reasons set forth below and after review of the entire record, 3 the Court will grant defendants’ motion to dismiss. BACKGROUND On September 28, 2017, plaintiff, a United States citizen, filed for an immigrant visa for her spouse, Muhammad Zulqarnain (“Muhammad”), a citizen of Pakistan. Compl. ¶¶ 16–17. On February 28, 2018, plaintiff’s Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, was approved by USCIS. See id. ¶ 19. USCIS forwarded it to the National Visa Center (“NVC”), situated within DOS, 2 Plaintiff’s Request for Relief also calls for a declaration concerning the legality of a Department of Homeland Security policy, “Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program.” Request for Relief ¶¶ 2–4. But while there are allegations in Count One that the policy contributed to the allegedly unlawful delay in processing …
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