UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BEHZAD BAGHERIAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil No. 19-1049 (JDB) MICHAEL R. POMPEO, in his official capacity as U.S. Secretary of State, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiffs Behzad Bagherian and Faezeh Abbasi brought this action against the U.S. government and various U.S. officials, seeking to compel the government under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) or the Mandamus Act to adjudicate Abbasi’s visa application. Now before the Court is the government’s motion to dismiss. For the reasons explained below, the Court will grant the motion and dismiss the case. Background 1 Bagherian is a U.S. citizen residing in Colorado. Petition for Writ of Mandamus (“Compl.”) [ECF No. 1] ¶ 8. He is engaged to Abbasi, an Iranian national. Id. ¶¶ 2, 8. The couple wish to get married in, and then live together in, the United States. Id. ¶ 6, 36–37. On August 19, 2016, Bagherian filed a petition for a K-1 visa on behalf of Abbasi. Id. ¶¶ 1–2. Otherwise known as “fiancée visas,” K-1 visas are available—if certain requirements are met—to aliens who intend to marry a U.S. citizen within 90 days of arrival in the United States. Visas for Fiancé(e)s of U.S. Citizens (“Visa Procedures”), https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/visas-fiancees-us- 1 The relevant facts are drawn from plaintiffs’ complaint and are assumed to be true for purposes of the motion to dismiss. 1 citizens. Filing a petition is just the first step in the lengthy, multistep K-1 visa process. The government must then approve the petition and send the application on to the National Visa Center (“NVC”), at which point the application is forwarded to the U.S. embassy or consulate where the alien fiancé(e) lives. Id. A consular officer in that office is responsible for interviewing the alien fiancé(e), reviewing the relevant documents, and requesting a background check. Id. If approved by the officer, a visa is issued to the alien fiancé(e). Id. He or she may then enter the United States and must marry the U.S. citizen indicated in the initial petition within 90 days of entry. Id. Abbasi made it past the first several steps in this process: her petition was approved and forwarded on to the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, and a consular officer there interviewed her on November 29, 2016. Compl. ¶¶ 16–17. But she then entered a limbo period. After her interview, the officer informed her that her “visa application is temporarily refused under section 221(g) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act,” pending the completion of administrative processing. Id. ¶ 17. Between November 2016 and December 2017, Bagherian reached out to the embassy at least five times, and even enlisted the help of a U.S. Senator from Colorado. Id. ¶¶ 19– 25. Each time, the embassy informed Bagherian (and the Senator) that the case was “pending administrative processing.” Id. While Abbasi and Bagherian were waiting to hear from the Embassy, on September 24, 2017, President Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 9645. See 82 Fed. Reg. 45,161 ...
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