UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DANIEL MILLIGAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Civil Action No. 20-2631 (JEB) ANTONY BLINKEN, Secretary of State, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiffs are American citizens and their non-citizen fiancé(e)s seeking visas for the latter to come to the U.S. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the State Department’s ordinary visa processing and created the conditions underlying the dispute here. Some Plaintiffs could not receive visas when this suit was filed because State interpreted several pandemic-related Presidential Proclamations to prohibit the issuance of certain visas for people in listed countries. Other Plaintiffs were never subject to the Proclamations, yet they have nonetheless experienced pandemic-related delays in visa processing that they believe are excessive. In November 2020, this Court granted in part and denied in part Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, enjoining State from improperly relying on the Proclamations in refusing to issue visas, but finding that its delay in processing visas in non-Proclamation countries was likely not unreasonable. Defendants now move to dismiss. Because the Secretary of State’s grant of a national-interest exception during the pendency of this case has mooted Plaintiffs’ claims involving the Proclamations and Defendants’ delay is still not unreasonable, the Court will grant the Motion. 1 I. Background The Court will first give an overview of the process for obtaining a fiancé(e) visa and then turn to the background of Plaintiffs’ claims and the procedural history of the case. Having already provided much of this detail in its PI Opinion, the Court truncates its description here, but elaborates on new developments since that Opinion. See Milligan v. Pompeo, 502 F. Supp. 3d 302, 308–11 (D.D.C. 2020). A. Fiancé(e) Visas The fiancé(e) visa, also known as a K-1 visa, is a nonimmigrant visa that allows a foreign citizen to travel to the U.S. to marry his or her U.S.-citizen fiancé(e) and then apply for lawful- permanent-resident status. See U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Visas for Fiancé(e)s of U.S. Citizens (March 23, 2018), https://bit.ly/35j9Jup (USCIS Fiancé(e) Visa Information). The fiancé(e) visa is a type of K visa, others of which are available to foreign spouses and children of fiancé(e)s and spouses. To obtain a K-1 visa, the U.S.-citizen fiancé(e) must submit a Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Id.; see also U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) (July 23, 2020), https://bit.ly/3eJ57k5. Once USCIS determines that the U.S. citizen has established the foreign fiancé(e)’s visa eligibility, it sends the application to the State Department’s National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing. See USCIS Fiancé(e) Visa Information. After NVC receives an approved application from USCIS, it creates a case in the State Department’s electronic application system. See U.S. Dep’t of State, Step 2: Begin National Visa Center (NVC) Processing (last visited Sept. 2, 2021), https://bit.ly/2JKANtW. The NVC then forwards the case to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where the foreign fiancé(e) will apply and interview for a K-1 visa. Id. 2 Upon receiving the case, …
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