UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TARA LYNN BOWNESS GEIGER, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Case No. 1:22-cv-02986 (TNM) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Tara Lynn Bowness Geiger and Nathan Marc Geiger are married Canadians seeking permanent residency in the United States. In January 2021, Mrs. Geiger applied for an employment-based visa for herself and her husband. To date, the Government has not finished processing their applications. The Geigers seek a writ of mandamus compelling the Government to process and approve their visas. The Government now moves to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The Court will grant the Government’s motion. Plaintiffs have not pled facts suggesting the delay is unreasonable or that it violates their due process rights. I. The Geigers applied for a visa allowing some foreign citizens to reside permanently in the United States if they can show they have employment in the United States or are employable. See generally Employment-Based Immigrant Visas, DOS, https://perma.cc/Y42N-VQYN. 1 Mrs. Geiger applied for the visa with her husband as a derivative. See Pet. ¶ 10. 1 This Court may take judicial notice of official information posted on government websites without converting the Government’s motion into one for summary judgment. See Pharm. Rsch. & Mfrs. of Am. v. HHS, 43 F. Supp. 3d 28, 33 (D.D.C. 2014). The process goes like this: First, the alien or the alien’s employer must file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). See Khushnood v. USCIS, No. 21-cv- 02166, 2022 WL 407152, at *1 (D.D.C. Feb. 10, 2022). If USCIS approves the petition, USCIS sends it to the National Visa Center (NVC). See id. NVC then forwards the approved petition to the U.S. embassy or consulate where the alien lives. See id. A local consular officer is then responsible for interviewing the alien. See id. This is where the Geigers are stuck. See Pet. ¶ 15. Mrs. Geiger filed her I-140 application on January 26, 2021. See id. ¶ 10. And NVC has considered her case ready for review since July 6, 2021. See id. ¶ 14. But the embassy has yet to schedule a consular interview. See id. ¶ 15. Fed up with waiting, the Geigers sued the Government under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. See id. ¶¶ 17, 25; Pls.’ Opp’n to Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss (Opp’n) at 7, 10–11, ECF No. 7. They petition for a writ of mandamus compelling the Government to issue their visas and “complete all administrative processing” within 60 days. See Pet. at 6–7. The Government has moved to dismiss. See Mot. to Dismiss (MTD), ECF No. 5. The Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and will grant the motion. II. A plaintiff must “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face” to survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (cleaned up). To do that, she must …
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Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals