USCA11 Case: 21-10189 Date Filed: 05/25/2022 Page: 1 of 14 [DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 21-10189 ____________________ CAYETANO RODRIGUEZ DURAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE, CHRISTOPHER LANDAU, Ambassador, United States Embassy, Mexico City, Mexico, Defendants-Appellees. USCA11 Case: 21-10189 Date Filed: 05/25/2022 Page: 2 of 14 2 Opinion of the Court 21-10189 ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 8:20-cv-00995-SDM-SPF ____________________ Before JILL PRYOR, GRANT, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Cayetano Rodriguez Duran appeals the district court’s dismissal for failure to state a claim of his petition for a writ of mandamus. After careful review of the record and the parties’ briefs, and with the benefit of oral argument, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND Duran, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, is married to Liliana Varela Rodriguez, a citizen of Mexico. Before their marriage, in 2007, Rodriguez entered the country without inspection. Shortly after her entrance, Customs and Border Pro- tection processed Rodriguez for the initiation of removal proceed- ings but released her from custody on her own recognizance. After the couple married, Duran submitted a Form I-130, (Petition for Alien Relative) to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, seeking to have his wife’s status adjusted to that of lawful permanent resident. Since Rodriguez had initially entered the country without inspection, however, she was ineli- gible to apply for adjustment of status in the United States. In- USCA11 Case: 21-10189 Date Filed: 05/25/2022 Page: 3 of 14 21-10189 Opinion of the Court 3 stead, Rodriguez was required to apply for an immigrant visa through the United States Consular Office in Ciudad Juarez, Mex- ico. Moreover, since Rodriguez entered the United States without inspection, she had assumed a period of unlawful presence, mean- ing that her departure to Mexico to pursue her visa would pre- clude her from returning to the United States. See 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) (deeming inadmissible any noncitizen who “has been unlawfully present in the United States for one year or more, and who again seeks admission within 10 years of the date of [her] departure or removal from the United States”). Rodriguez sought and received a provisional waiver of her inadmissibility so that she could attend her consular interview in Mexico. Following the interview, the consular officer rejected Rodriguez’s visa application. The officer cited three reasons for the rejection. First, Rodriguez had made a false representation that she was a citizen of the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(6)(C)(ii). Rodriguez “was apprehended while attempting to enter the United States by falsely declaring to be a U.S. citizen at [a] checkpoint in the state of Texas, in July 2007.” Doc. 1-5 at 3. 1 Second, Rodriguez had knowingly encouraged, induced, assisted, abetted, or aided any other noncitizen to enter or to try to enter the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(6)(E)(i). “Ac- cording to [her] statements …
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