UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________________________ ) SARA GHADAMI, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 19-00397 (ABJ) ) UNITED STATES ) DEPARTMENT OF ) HOMELAND SECURITY, et al. ) ) Defendants. ) ____________________________________) MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff Sara Ghadami, an American citizen, initiated lawful processes to bring her parents to the United States in 2016. Plaintiff’s mother now lives in this country with her three children, but her father is still waiting for an answer. On February 15, 2019, Sara and her father Ali Akbar Ghadamy filed a complaint in this Court against the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”); the Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”); the Department of State; the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey; Kirstjen Nielsen, Former Secretary of DHS; L. Francis Cissna, Director of USCIS; William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States; Michael Pompeo, the Secretary of State; and Jeffrey Hovenier, Charge de Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. Compl. [Dkt. # 1]. Plaintiffs allege that defendants violated the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 701, et seq., and the Constitution’s due process clause when they unreasonably delayed rendering a decision on whether Ali Akbar Ghadamy is entitled to a waiver of the restrictions on immigration set forth in Presidential Proclamation 9645. Compl. ¶¶ 12, 22–40. On June 7, 2019, defendants moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1). Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss [Dkt. # 11] (“Defs.’ Mot.”) at 2. Defendants also argued that plaintiffs failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6). Id. at 14–17. Plaintiffs opposed the motion on July 5, 2019. Pls.’ Opp. to Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss [Dkt. # 15] (“Pls.’ Opp.”). The Court finds that it has jurisdiction to review plaintiffs’ claims but that they have failed to state a claim for relief. Thus, it will grant defendants’ motion to dismiss. BACKGROUND I. Legal Background The Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) provides that a U.S. citizen who wishes to bring a foreign national relative to the United States must file a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) with the United States Customs and Immigration Service (“USCIS”). 8 U.S.C. § 1154; 8 C.F.R. § 204.1(a)(1). After the petition is approved, it is forwarded to the Department of State’s Processing Center. 8 C.F.R. § 204.2(a)(3). The foreign national is notified to go to the local U.S. consulate in his country to complete visa processing, which includes submitting an online Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application (Form DS-260) and appearing for an interview with a consular officer at the embassy. 22 C.F.R. § 42.67(a)(3). At the conclusion of the interview, “the consular officer must [either] issue [or] refuse the visa . . . .” 22 C.F.R. § 42.81(a). “If the consular officer refuses the visa, he or she must inform the applicant of the provisions of law on which the refusal is based, ...
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