UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DAN GILIANA, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 21-cv-01416 (CRC) ANTONY BLINKEN, in his official capacity as Secretary of State, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff Dan Giliana, a United States citizen, seeks to compel the Department of State to adjudicate his Iraqi fiancée’s U.S. visa application, which has been pending for nearly four years. He also challenges the Department of Homeland Security’s (“DHS”) Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (“CARRP”), an internal agency policy concerning the processing of visa applications that present potential national security concerns. The government has moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim and for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Because Giliana has not plausibly alleged that the delay in adjudicating his fiancée’s visa application is unreasonable, or that she has been injured in any concrete way by CARRP, the Court will grant the government’s motion and dismiss the case. I. Background Mr. Giliana is a United States citizen who resides in Arizona. See Compl. ¶ 6, ECF No. 1; Decl. of Dan Giliana (“Giliana Decl.”) ¶¶ 1–3, ECF No. 5-1. His fiancée, Sandy Shamon, lives in Iraq. See Compl. ¶¶ 1, 15; see also Giliana Decl. ¶¶ 4, 7, 16. In January 2018, Giliana filed a visa petition (Form I-129F) with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to obtain lawful permanent resident status for Shamon. Compl. ¶¶ 13–14. USCIS approved that petition in June 2018. Id. ¶ 13. A few months later, in October 2018, a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq interviewed Shamon and reviewed her visa application. Id. ¶ 15. Following the interview, according to Giliana, the consular officer informed Shamon that her application was being placed under “administrative processing” and that she needed to answer additional questions about her prior occupations and contact information. See id. ¶ 16; Giliana Decl. ¶¶ 8–9. Since then, Giliana alleges that he and Shamon have repeatedly inquired about the status of her visa application, but the government has provided “no meaningful responses” and does not “publish any information on processing times for [applications in] ‘administrative processing.’” See Compl. ¶¶ 17–18. Giliana further alleges “on information and belief” that the government is “intentionally delaying this immigration case” through a program known as CARRP (the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program). Compl. ¶ 41; id. ¶¶ 37–41. Per the complaint, CARRP is an internal DHS policy that prohibits the approval of any visa application that presents a “national security concern” and directs consular officers to either deny the application or delay adjudication, often indefinitely. Id. ¶¶ 38–39. CARRP allegedly targets applications from predominantly Muslim countries. Id. ¶ 38. In May 2021, Giliana brought suit against a host of government officials under the Administrative Procedure Act’s (“APA”) unreasonable delay provision, 5 U.S.C. § 706(1), and the Mandamus Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1361. He seeks an order directing the government to process Shamon’s visa application within fifteen days and declaratory and injunctive relief as to CARRP. …
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